Big Phil, 50, wins 6th Major in a triumph for the ages
Over 456 golf Majors Mickelson becomes the oldest, and the only 50-plus winner, at the PGA C’ship
The pandemonium closed in around Phil Mickelson as he walked toward the 18th green at Kiawah Island, where thousands of euphoric fans wanted a piece of the history he delivered on Sunday in the PGA Championship. A major champion at age 50, the oldest in the 161 years of major championship golf. “I don’t know how to describe the feeling of excitement and fulfillment and accomplishment to do something of this magnitude when very few people thought that I could,” Mickelson said after his historic win.
NEW DELHI: Baying fans, thousands of them, closed in as Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka walked up to the final green at the Kiawah Island’s The Ocean Course on Sunday. Not to take anything away from the finest hour of Leftie the popular champion, the frenzy would have come second only to the roar for Tiger Woods’ march to Major victories.
On Sunday, at one of the toughest courses in the US, where a scratch player is expected to average 79 in a good round, Mickelson’s two-shot win in the US PGA Championship meant much more than the history he made as the oldest to win a Major, at 50.
“Being able to stay more in the present” Mickleson, who turns 51 next month, told reporters as the most important ingredient in his first Major for eight years.
“It’s possible this is the last tournament I ever win. Like if I’m being realistic. But it’s also possible that I may have had a little bit of a breakthrough in some of my focus and maybe I go on a little bit of a run, I don’t know. But point is that there’s no reason why I or anybody else can’t do it at a later age. It just takes a little bit more work.”
Less of an understatement, more of a fair assessment, but none of the nostalgia that was whipped up when Jack Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 Majors, contended well into the final round at the 1998 Masters at 58. Or when Tom Watson, at 59, almost won 2009 British Open until nerves let him down as he lost in the playoff. Fred Couples was 52 when he led midway through the 2012 Masters.
Eight-year wait
For Mickelson, whose last Major win was the 2013 US Open, it was more about fixing his wavering concentration. For inspiration, to win a Major long after everyone had given up, he need not have looked beyond Woods’ 2019 Masters win, his first Major (overall 15th) after 11 frustrating years, through four back surgeries and turmoil in his life.
The Ocean Course at 7,849 yards was the longest course in which a Major was played. That meant it was tailor-made for the younger big-hitters, like Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. In the end, only 16 players ended under par, Mickelson beating Koepka by two shots.
It was Mickelson’s consistency, accurate tee shots in stiff breeze from the Atlantic and inspired play that stood out. The wind and hazards on the course punished the field. Mickelson shared the halfway lead, led by a shot after 54 holes before seeing off Koepka’s on Sunday.
Mickelson knew he would be a contender in tough conditions. But those close to him knew he must stay in the now. Tina, older sister to Phil and Tim—he caddied for his brother, for the first time in a Major—tweeted with a smiley emoji, on how the family dealt with the pressure on Sunday. “While you guys were busy on the golf course, I was busy fielding Mom’s “nervous texts”.
Mom’s words
And mom’s frantic message, attached to the tweet? “Tina, txt Philip and tell him just to par in. Don’t hit bombs or activate calves. Just par. They will have to catch him. He won’t listen to his mother do you txt him. Hurry (smiley).”
Mickelson put it down to taming the mind. “I’ll get my thoughts racing (usually), I was really trying to stay calm.”
The motto was “working harder physically, focus a lot harder”. It helped win his 45th PGA Tour title.
It’s possible this is the last tournament I ever win. But it’s also possible that I may have had a little bit of a breakthrough in some of my focus, I don’t know. PHIL MICKELSON, golfer