A profile of Golfing Great Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is a true golfing superstar. We profile his career to date
Philip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer, born on June 16, 1970, in San Diego, California.
Phil has had a very successful career, winning over 40 PGA tournaments. Winning the Masters back in 2004 marked the first of five Major titles he has won.
Phil showed interest in golfing right from when he was a toddler. Before turning pro at 22, Phil already had a stellar career when he was at Arizona State. There he won three NCAA individual championships.
Despite having a unique skillset, "Lefty," Phil wasn’t able to win a major until the 2004 Masters when he pulled off a dramatic win. He went on to be one of the players of the decade, winning four more major championships.
Early Life and Family
Phil Mickelson's parents Phil and Mary have often talked about how their son began his golf career when he could barely walk around as a child. According to his parents, at the age of three, Mickelson already started running away from home, telling neighbours he was going to the golf course.
Mickelson began his amateur golfing career as a teen. At that time, he won San Diego Junior Golf Association titles 34 times, using his father's job as an airline pilot to acquire tickets to various tournaments.
His mother took up a second job to help pay for Mickelson's American Junior Golf Association play, which in return won him the AJGA Rolex Player of the Year awards three consecutive times, as well as a full scholarship to study psychology at the Arizona University.
Phil Mickelson recounts his best junior golf memory.
During his time at Arizona State University, Mickelson jumped to the very top of the National amateur golf ranks. He was named 'The college champion.' Mickelson won three Haskins Award for the most outstanding collegiate golfer and also became the second collegiate golfer to earn first-team All-American honours for all four years.
While still in college in the year 1990, Mickelson became the very first lefty to win the U.S. Amateur title. In that same year, he also won his first PGA Tour tournament as an amateur, which made him the first golfer in the history of PGA to achieve that feat.
On the eve of his 22nd birthday in 1992, Mickelson turned professional.
Phil Mickelson - Professional career
Mickelson had his first title as a pro in 1993 at the Torrey Pines. He then went on and continued cementing his place among the best in the sport. He won the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf in the year 1996, followed on to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 1998, as well as the Colonial National Invitation in 2000. That same year (2000) he also won the Buick Invitational, when he defeated Tiger Woods to end the golf icon's consecutive tournament winning streak.
Despite being very successful, Mickelson's career was having just one major problem; He was still missing out at golf's biggest tournaments, and he was branded “the best player to never win a major."
Phil win’s his first Major title
Mickelson finally had his big moment in 2004 masters, where he birdied five of the final seven holes, including number 18, to get well a deserved one-shot win over his opponent Ernie Els. Following that win, Mickelson stated
"It's hard for me to explain how it feels. It's almost make-believe."
He went on to add more majors to his first, as he won the 2005 PGA Championship and clinched a second Master in 2006. In 2007 his earnings for the year were estimated at $42 million, making him one of golf's highest-paid players.
Mickelson, the player fondly called "Lefty", continued to swell his trophy collection. He won the 2007 players championship and also the 2009 Tour Championship. At the 2010 Masters, he mounted a strong charge in the third round and earned The Green Jacket making it his third Major win.
Jim Nantz documents Phil Mickelson's breakthrough moment as he makes a dramatic birdie on No. 18 to win the 2004 Masters and claim his first Major..
Dry spell
Having won the British Open in 2013, where he told 'ESPN,' "I've had some of the best golf I've ever played today. It will be one of the most memorable rounds of golf I've ever played." Mickelson had a winless streak in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He later had surgery for a sports hernia late in the year twice.
He finally ended his drought in 2018 when he defeated Justin Thomas to claim the WGC-Mexico Championship. "This is a very meaningful win," he said afterwards. "I can't put it into words given the tough times over the last four years and the struggle to get back here."
In 2018 he had a showdown with his arch-rival Woods, and Mickelson won by sinking a birdie on the 22nd and final hole.
They both (Mickelson and Woods) squared off again a match "Champions for Charity" in May 2020. He lost to Woods this time. However, the event was a major success, as $20 million was raised for coronavirus relief efforts.
In 2021, Phil Mickelson also won the USPGA at 50 years old, making him one of the oldest golfers to win a major.
Phil Mickelson Career Record
Professional wins (53)
PGA Tour wins (44)
Major Championships (5)
Players Championships (1)
World Golf Championships (2)
Tour Championships/FedEx Cup Playoff events (3)
Other PGA Tour (33)
Phil Mickelson PGA Tour Wins
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning score |
Margin of Victory |
Runners(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jan 13, 1991 |
Northern Telecom open (as an amateur) |
−16 (65-71-65-71=272 |
1 stroke |
Tom Purtzer, Bob Tway |
| 2 |
Feb 21, 1993 |
Buick Invitational of California |
−10 (75-69-69-65=278) |
4 strokes |
Dave Rummells |
| 3 |
Aug 22, 1993 |
The International |
45 pts (11-7-11-16=45) |
8 points |
Mark Calcavecchia |
| 4 |
Jan 9, 994 |
Mercedes Championships |
−12 (70-68-70-68=276) |
Playoff |
Fred Couples |
| 5 |
Jan 22, 1995 |
Northern Telecom Open (2) |
−19 (65-66-70-68=269) |
1 stroke |
Jim Gallagher Jr., Scott Simpson |
| 6 |
Jan 14, 1996 |
Nortel Open (3) |
−14 (69-66-71-67=273) |
2 strokes |
Bob Tway |
| 7 |
Jan 27, 1996 |
Phoenix Open |
−15 (69-67-66-67=269) |
Playoff |
Justin Leonard |
| 8 |
May 12, 1996 |
GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic |
−15 (67-65-67-66=265) |
2 strokes |
Craig Parry |
| 9 |
Aug 25, 1996 |
NEC World Series of Golf |
−6 (70-66-68-70=274) |
3 strokes |
Billy Mayfair, Steve Stricker, Duffy Waldorf |
| 10 |
Mar 23, 1997 |
Bay Hill Invitational |
−16 (72-65-70-65=272) |
3 strokes |
Stuart Appleby |
| 11 |
Aug 3, 1997 |
Sprint International (2) |
48 pts (14-13-12-9=48) |
7 points |
Stuart Appleby |
| 12 |
Jan 11, 1998 |
Mercedes Championships (2) |
−17 (68-67-68-68=271) |
1 stroke |
Mark O'Meara, Tiger Woods |
| 13 |
Aug 17, 1998 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am |
−14 (65-70-67=202)* |
1 stroke |
Tom Pernice Jr. |
| 14 |
Feb 13, 2000 |
Buick Invitational (2) |
−18 (66-67-67-70=270) |
4 strokes |
Japan Shigeki Maruyama Tiger Woods |
| 15 |
Apr 2, 2000 |
BellSouth Classic |
−11 (67-69-69=205)* |
Playoff |
Gary Nicklaus |
| 16 |
May 21, 2000 |
MasterCard Colonial |
−12 (67-68-70-63=268) |
2 strokes |
Stewart Cink, Davis Love III |
| 17 |
Nov 5, 2000 |
The Tour Championship |
−13 (67-69-65-66=267) |
2 strokes |
Tiger Woods |
| 18 |
Feb 11, 2001 |
Buick Invitational (3) |
−19 (68-64-71-66=269) |
Playoff |
Frank Lickliter, Davis Love III |
| 19 |
Jul 1, 2001 |
Canon Greater Hartford Open |
−16 (67-68-61-68=264) |
1 stroke |
Billy Andrade |
| 20 |
Jan 20, 2002 |
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic |
−30 (64-67-70-65-64=330) |
Playoff |
David Berganio Jr. |
| 21 |
Jun 23, 2002 |
Canon Greater Hartford Open (2) |
−14 (69-67-66-64=264) |
1 stroke |
Jonathan Kaye, Davis Love III |
| 22 |
Jan 25, 2004 |
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (2) |
−30 (68-63-64-67-68=330) |
Playoff |
Skip Kendall |
| 23 |
Apr 11, 2004 |
Masters Tournament |
−9 (72-69-69-69=279) |
1 stroke |
Ernie Els |
| 24 |
Feb 6, 2005 |
FBR Open (2) |
−17 (73-60-66-68=267) |
5 strokes |
Scott McCarron, Kevin Na |
| 25 |
Feb 13, 2005 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (2) |
−19 (62-67-67-73=269) |
4 strokes |
Canada Mike Weir |
| 26 |
Apr 4, 2005 |
BellSouth Classic (2) |
−8 (74-65-69=208)* |
Playoff |
Arjun Atwal, Rich Beem, Brandt Jobe, José María Olazábal |
| 27 |
Aug 15, 2005 |
PGA Championship |
−4 (67-65-72-72=276) |
1 stroke |
Thomas Bjørn, Steve Elkington |
| 28 |
Apr 2, 2006 |
BellSouth Classic (3) |
−28 (63-65-67-65=260) |
13 strokes |
Zach Johnson, José María Olazábal |
| 29 |
Apr 9, 2006 |
Masters Tournament (2) |
−7 (70-72-70-69=281) |
2 strokes |
Tim Clark |
| 30 |
Feb 11, 2007 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (3) |
−20 (65-67-70-66=268) |
5 strokes |
Kevin Sutherland |
| 31 |
May 13, 2007 |
The Players Championship |
−11 (67-72-69-69=277) |
2 strokes |
Sergio García |
| 32 |
Sep 3, 2007 |
Deutsche Bank Championship |
−16 (70-64-68-66=268) |
2 strokes |
Arron Oberholser, Brett Wetterich, Tiger Woods |
| 33 |
Feb 17, 2008 |
Northern Trust Open |
−12 (68-64-70-70=272) |
2 strokes |
Jeff Quinney |
| 34 |
May 26, 2008 |
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (2) |
−14 (65-68-65-68=266) |
1 stroke |
Tim Clark, Rod Pampling |
| 35 |
Feb 22, 2009 |
Northern Trust Open (2) |
−15 (63-72-62-72=269) |
1 stroke |
Steve Stricker |
| 36 |
Mar 15, 2009 |
WGC-CA Championship |
−19 (65-66-69-69=269) |
1 stroke |
Nick Watney |
| 37 |
Sep 27, 2009 |
The Tour Championship (2) |
−9 (73-67-66-65=271) |
3 strokes |
Tiger Woods |
| 38 |
Apr 11, 2010 |
Masters Tournament (3) |
−16 (67-71-67-67=272) |
3 strokes |
Lee Westwood |
| 39 |
Apr 3, 2011 |
Shell Houston Open |
−20 (70-70-63-65=268) |
3 strokes |
Chris Kirk, Scott Verplank |
| 40 |
Feb 12, 2012 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (4) |
−17 (70-65-70-64=269) |
2 strokes |
Charlie Wi |
| 41 |
Feb 3, 2013 |
Waste Management Phoenix Open (3) |
−28 (60-65-64-67=256) |
4 strokes |
Brandt Snedeker |
| 42 |
Jul 21, 2013 |
The Open Championship |
−3 (69-74-72-66=281) |
3 strokes |
Henrik Stenson |
| 43 |
Mar 4, 2018 |
WGC-Mexico Championship (2) |
−16 (69-68-65-66=268) |
Playoff |
Justin Thomas |
| 44 |
Feb 11, 2019 |
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (5) |
−19 (65-68-70-65=268) |
3 strokes |
Paul Casey |
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