Phil Mickelson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Mickelson's first major championship win came in his thirteenth year on the PGA Tour in 2004, when he secured victory in the Masters with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Ernie Els was the runner-up at a stroke back. He was only the third golfer with a left-handed swing to win a major, joining Sir Bob Charles and Mike Weir. The following year, Mickelson captured his second major at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol. On the 18th hole, he hit a trademark soft pitch from deep greenside rough to within 18 inches of the cup and made birdie to finish at 4-under-par 276, one shot ahead of Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjørn. Mickelson captured his third major title the following spring at the Masters, winning his second green jacket after shooting a 3-under-par final round, winning by two strokes over Tim Clark. This win propelled him to 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking, his career best. After winning two majors in a row heading into the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he was bidding to join Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three consecutive majors. He was the joint leader going into the final round, but made major mistakes on the final hole and ended up in a tie for second place at +6, one shot behind Geoff Ogilvy. Needing a par on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory, Mickelson hit a driver well left of the fairway, then went for the green rather than pitch out. His ball hit a tree, his next shot plugged into a greenside bunker, and he made double bogey. After his finish, he congratulated Ogilvy and apologized to his supporters.

In Their Own Story

In 2022, Mickelson became the only golfer who has won three different majors to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, leaving his PGA Tour membership of 30 years. His 2000 Buick Invitational win ended Tiger Woods's streak of six consecutive victories on the PGA Tour. After the win, Mickelson said, "I didn't want to be the bad guy. I wasn't trying to end the streak per se. I was just trying to win the golf tournament." In November 2004, Mickelson tallied his career-low for an 18-hole round: a 59 at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Poipu Bay Golf Course in Hawaii. Prior to the Ryder Cup in 2004, Mickelson was dropped from his long-standing contract with Titleist/Acushnet Golf after an incident when he left a voicemail message for a Callaway Golf executive praising their driver and golf ball. He then signed on with Callaway Golf. He faltered at the 2004 Ryder Cup with a 1-3-0 record but refused to blame the sudden change in equipment. During the third round of the 2006 Ford Championship at Doral, Mickelson gave a spectator $200 after his wayward tee shot at the par-5 10th broke the man's watch. In 2007, after hearing the story of retired NFL player Conrad Dobler and his family on ESPN explaining their struggles to pay medical bills, Mickelson volunteered to pay tuition for Holli Dobler at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Reader's Guide

Mickelson has spent more than 25 consecutive years in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He has spent over 700 weeks in the top 10, has reached a career-high world ranking of No. 2 several times and is a life member of the PGA Tour. Although naturally right-handed, he is known for his left-handed swing, having learned it by mirroring his right-handed father's swing. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. Mickelson attended Arizona State University on a golf scholarship, capturing three NCAA individual championships and three Haskins Awards (1990, 1991, 1992). He shares the record for most individual NCAA championships alongside Ben Crenshaw. In 1990, he became the first with a left-handed swing to win the U.S. Amateur title, defeating high school teammate Manny Zerman 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final at Cherry Hills. He won his first PGA Tour event, the Northern Telecom Open, as an amateur. With five holes remaining, he led by a stroke, made a triple-bogey, then birdied 16 and 18 to win by a stroke. He bypassed the tour's qualifying process because of his 1991 win in Tucson, which earned him a two-year exemption.

Did You Know?

• Mickelson is one of 17 players in the history of golf to win at least three of the four majors.
• He has finished runner-up in the U.S. Open a record six times.
• Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in history at age 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days at the 2021 PGA Championship.
• He won his first PGA Tour event as an amateur, the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
• Mickelson tallied his career-low 18-hole round of 59 at the 2004 PGA Grand Slam of Golf.