Phil Mickelson still has what it takes to compete for majors

Phil Mickelson sees no reason why he cannot keep contending for majors as the veteran closed out a good week at the PGA Championship with a pair of 68s.

Lees than two weeks after being outshone by Henrik Stenson in an epic battle for The Open at Royal Troon, Mickelson fought hard just to make the cut at Baltusrol before securing a solid top-30 finish on three under.

The 46-year-old, who birdied the final two holes, admitted he was inspired by the performance of Bernhard Langer at the Masters in April, when the German went into the final round just two strokes off the lead before fading on the last day.

And the five-time major champion insisted his "love and desire" for golf remained as strong as ever, while he feels physically fit and healthy.

"I think that Bernhard Langer at 56 or 7 was in the final two groups group at the Masters," said Mickelson. "That would be the one that would be probably the most difficult because length being such a big factor, yet he's doing it in his mid-50s.

"I don't know what would hold me back, and I'm starting to play some really good golf again. Physically I don't have any issues to worry about right now. A lot of that is a golf swing, a lot of that is my trainer Sean Cochran has done a good job of keeping my body in balance and preventing injury.

"We'll probably assess it a little more in the off season to try to gain a little bit more strength and speed, but for the most part I've been able to really practice and work as hard I need to to play at a high level. I don't know what would hold me back.

"It seems as though my love for the game and desire is as strong as it's ever been. I think that this year has taken me a year to get my game back after two and a half years of really struggling. The only thing that's missing is the final result, but it's been very close.

"Certainly my play this year at Troon tells me that I'm still able to play at a high level. I'm starting to see my game come back, I'm starting to hit the shots again, what I'm visualizing, what I'm seeing and doing it with ease now. I'm excited about where my game is."

Mickelson also defended the decision of the PGA of America to impose "lift, clean and place" for the final round of the PGA Championship to combat the problems caused by heavy rain over the weekend.

"I think it's such the right call," added the left-hander. "There's so much element of luck involved in you don't do that because of the amount of mud that will get on the ball as well as the inability to finish the round because of not being able to take full relief from the fairway.

"There were some spots where the only relief would end up being in the rough, so I think it was a great call. I know it's not one that is ideal, but unfortunately that's been the case this week because on the weekend this golf course was setup to be perfect for a major championship.

"And unfortunately the rains came and just softened the course exponentially. We're still seeing some great golf and I think playing it up provides a chance to take the luck out of deciding the champion and also provides a possibility to really go low."

Mickelson is now looking forward to an extended break before returning to action for The Barclays, the first event in the FedExCup play-offs, and he said: "I have not had three weeks in the summer for over two decades, and I'll take these three weeks off and be fresh and ready heading into the FedExCup.

"That's a good stretch of golf of those four play-off events and then the Ryder Cup. I'm looking forward to those five events. This is the first time where I'm excited to play all four FedExCup events, usually I only play three. I'll be fresh and excited to go out in the Ryder Cup, too."