Phil Mickelson

Mickelson started playing golf at 18 months old, swinging left-handed as a mirror image of his father. When he got serious about the game, his father built a complete practice area in the backyard of their home in San Diego. Mickelson had a sterling amateur career, winning 1989, '90, and '92 NCAA Championships and the 1990 U.S. Amateur. He was also the low amateur (T-29th) at the 1990 U.S. Open and the 1991 Masters (T-46th) and a four-time All-American. Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, becoming the fifth-youngest winner of a PGA Tour event. He is one of only five players (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ryan Moore, and Bryson DeChambeau) to win the same year at the NCAA and the U.S. Amateur.
He turned professional at the 1992 U.S. Open and won five events before age 25. He Plays golf left-handed but is right-handed in all other activities. He has finished 2nd on the money list five times but has never won the title. He was beaten out by Tom Lehman in the final week in 1996 when Lehman won the Tour Championship. Mickelson won four times that year, the most on the PGA Tour, and matched that mark with another four wins in 2000 and '05. In the generation of golfers of the last two decades, he is the second-best player behind Woods. Mickelson has never advanced higher than 2nd in the world ranking.
Member of 1995, '97, '99, 2002, '04, '06, '08, '10, '12, '14, '16 and '18 U.S. Ryder Cup teams. Member of 1994, '96, '98, 2000, '03, '05, '07, '09, '11, '13, '15 and '17 Presidents Cup teams. Member of 1989 and '91 Walker Cup teams.
2009 Notes: Started the year winning the Northern Trust and the WGC-CA Championship. He took time off during the season after breast cancer diagnosis for his wife and mother. He won the Tour Championship to finish 2nd in the FedExCup standings.
2010 Notes: Won the Masters, but the rest of the season was tough. He contended in only a few events, primarily due to health concerns with his wife and mother, plus his medical problem of arthritis.
2011 Notes: Elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Victory at Shell Houston Open extended his winning streak to eight years in a row. A 10th-place finish at the Tour Championship led to a 15th-place showing in the FedExCup standings, making him the only player to finish inside the top-15 in all five of the competition's seasons. He finished 3-1-0 in his ninth Presidents Cup appearance for the United States, including a 3-0-0 record partnering with Jim Furyk.
2012 Notes: Won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am while paired with Woods in the final round. Lost to Bill Haas in a three-man playoff at the Northern Trust Open. He placed 5th in the final FedExCup standings after a T-15th finish at the Tour Championship. He was the only player to finish inside the top-15 in the FedExCup standings in the first six seasons. He turned in a 3-1-0 record at the Ryder Cup in a losing effort for the U.S. He was paired with Keegan Bradley to win first three matches but dropped his singles match to Justin Rose. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
2013 Notes: At the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Mickelson opened with a 60, then shot 65-65-67 to win by four strokes. His 28-under-par 256 total equaled Mark Calcavecchia's 72-hole tournament record, making him the second wire-to-wire winner in Phoenix Open history. At Merion, he was in the running all four days for the U.S. Open title but lost by two shots to Justin Rose. At that point, he had finished runner-up six times at the U.S. Open. He took some time off for a family vacation in Montana and enjoyed great two weeks in Scotland after missing the cut at The Greenbrier. He first won the Scottish Open over Branden Grace in a playoff. The following week at Muirfield, he entered the final round five strokes behind third-round leader Lee Westwood. A second-nine 32, including a birdie-birdie finish, led to a final-round 66 to win the British Open by three strokes. The victory lifted him to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking. The 43-year-old became the third-consecutive event winner over age 40, joining Darren Clarke and Ernie Els, both 42. He also became just the second left-hander to win the British Open, with Bob Charles first performing the feat in 1963. The victory came in his 20th Open start, the most before a victory for anyone in that championship's history. He also joined Els as consecutive British Open champions to win the event after being enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. His record 10th Presidents Cup appearance for the U.S. was 2-2-1 in his five matches. At the end of the year, he placed 9th in the FedExCup standings, 4th on the money list, and 5th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
2014 Notes: Started the year with a T-2nd finish with Rory McIlroy at Abu Dhabi, one stroke behind winner Pablo Larrazabal. After returning home, Mickelson withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open due to oblique soreness. After Abu Dhabi, he didn't have a top-10 until finishing runner-up at the PGA Championship. Played in two FedExCup playoff events, then withdrew after two rounds at the BMW Championship. He didn't qualify to play in the Tour Championship for the first time in the FedExCup era. Was 68th in the FedExCup rankings and 38th on the money list. It was only the third year since turning professional that he did not win a tournament on the PGA Tour (other years were 1999 and 2003), and it was the only time he didn't have more than one top-10 for the year on the PGA Tour.
2015 Notes: He earned two top-25 finishes in his first seven starts. But at the Masters, he had his second consecutive runner-up finish in a major, finishing four strokes behind winner Jordan Spieth. One month later, he finished T-4th at the Wells Fargo Championship, then T-3rd at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. For the second consecutive season, he finished outside the top 30 and in the 60s in FedExCup points. He finished 61st in the FedExCup standings and 38th on the money list. He went 3-0-1 in his four Presidents Cup matches.
2016 Notes: Mickelson started his season at the CareerBuilder Challenge, finishing T-3rd. Entered the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a two-stroke lead and shot an even-par 72 to finish 2nd (32nd runner-up finish in his 530th PGA Tour start). Finished 5th at the WGC-Cadillac, three strokes behind winner Adam Scott. Was T-4th at the Wells Fargo, two strokes from getting into the playoff. He finished T-2nd at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, three strokes behind Daniel Berger. At the British Open, he became the 26th player in history to shoot a 63 in a major championship. His birdie bid at the 18th hole to become the first player to shoot a 62 in a major lipped out. Broke the opening 36-hole scoring record at Royal Troon with a 10-under 132 total and a one-stroke lead over Henrik Stenson after the second round. They went into the final round one stroke behind Stenson and five ahead of the next-best player but regained the lead at the first hole with a birdie to Stenson's three-putt bogey. Despite a final-round 65, he finished runner-up after Stenson shot a 63 for a three-stroke victory. Marked his 11th runner-up in a major championship, second only to Jack Nicklaus (19). It was his 27th top-5 in his 96th major start. He marked his 34th career runner-up, the most of any active player. The runner-up performance was his sixth top-10 of the season, doubling his total from 2015. It would be his last top-10 of the year. He finished 16th in the FedExCup standings and 12th on the money list. Making his 11th Ryder Cup appearance, he went 2-1-1 in his four matches in the 17-11 U.S. victory. He went head-to-head in singles with Sergio Garcia, where both players combined for 19 birdies (10 by Mickelson) to halve their match. Combined, the two shot a score of 14-under 58 at Hazeltine.
2017 Notes: Finished T-8th at the Safeway Open in Napa. On October 19th, he had hernia surgery, and on the same day, his longtime caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay had double knee replacement surgery. Mickelson hoped to recover over four to six weeks but underwent a second sports hernia procedure on December 12th. On January 19th, 83 days after hitting his last competitive shot at Safeway and six days after making his last practice shot, he played at the CareerBuilder Challenge. He came back in style, birdieing his first hole of the tournament, and finished T-21st. Mickelson played in four more West Coast events and earned his first top-10 at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where he finished T-7th, four strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson. Two weeks later, at the WGC-Dell Match Play, he made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Bill Haas and settled for T-5th.
Mickelson's status for the U.S. Open was up in the air. On the Saturday of The Memorial, he announced that he would attend his daughter Amanda's high school graduation, which was the same day as the first round at Erin Hills. He finished 9th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Hoping for some bad weather that never materialized, he withdrew from the U.S. Open to attend Amanda's graduation. A week after that, Mickelson announced that after 25 years together, he was breaking up with his caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay. Mickelson's brother, Tim, would be on his bag for the remainder of the season. In their first event together, Mickelson missed the cut at the British Open, then, in his 100th major at the PGA Championship, also missed the cut. In the FedExCup playoffs, he finished T-6th at the Dell Technologies Championship but missed the Tour Championship for the third time in four seasons. He ended his PGA Tour season 34th in the FedExCup standings. As a captain's pick, making his record 12th consecutive appearance in the Presidents Cup, he helped lead the United States to a dominating win, going 3-0-1 for the week.
2018 Notes: Played 24 PGA Tour events, making 21 cuts with six top-10 finishes. He was 21st in the FedExCup standings. He started the year with a T-3rd finish at the Safeway Open, three strokes behind winner Brendan Steele. When the Tour moved to the West Coast swing, Mickelson started slowly, missing the cut at the CareerBuilder Challenge. The next week, he finished T-45th at the Farmers, then T-5th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Was T-2nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he birdied three of his final five holes to finish three strokes behind winner Ted Potter Jr. The next week, he finished in the top 10 for a third consecutive week with a T-6th result at the Genesis Open. At the WGC-Mexico Championship, he started the final round two strokes behind Shubhankar Sharma. Mickelson shot 66 and then defeated Justin Thomas on the first hole of a playoff for his 43rd career PGA Tour victory, 96 PGA Tour starts after his last win at the 2013 British Open. It was his first victory with his brother Tim as his caddie. He finished T-5th at Wells Fargo. Going into the U.S. Open, he placed T-12th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic with a final-round 65. Finished T-48th at the U.S. Open, T-24th at the British Open, and missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He was a captain's pick and played in his 12th consecutive Ryder Cup, surpassing Nick Faldo for most Ryder Cup appearances among either team. He played in two matches and failed to score any points. He lost in his 12th career singles match against Francesco Molinari, 4 & 2. Marked his 23rd consecutive season winning $1 million or more, and the 27th consecutive season, he finished in the top-125 on the money list, becoming just the second player to reach 27 straight seasons (Davis Love III).
2019 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour events, making 12 cuts with two top-10 finishes. He was 47th in the FedExCup standings. T-2nd with Adam Hadwin at the Desert Classic. They were defeated by Adam Long, who made a 13-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole. Mickelson opened the event with a first-round 60 at La Quinta Country Club, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history with three scores of 60 or better. At the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson closed with a bogey-free 65 to win by three strokes over Paul Casey. It was his 44th PGA Tour win in 598 starts and came at 48 years, 7 months, and 26 days. The win was his fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach and happened the same week he made his 500th cut on the PGA Tour. He did not have another top-15 all year, his best finish was T-18th at the Masters. In the FedExCup playoffs, he was T-71st at the Northern Trust and T-48th at the BMW Championship. For the first time since 1993, he did not participate in a Presidents or Ryder Cup, participating in 24 straight.
2020 Notes: Played in 16 PGA Tour events, making nine cuts with two top-10 finishes. He was 75th in the FedExCup standings. He finished 3rd in his title defense at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Shot a final-round 74 and finished five strokes behind winner Nick Taylor. It was Phil's 10th top-three result in 24 starts at the event. In June, he turned 50 and became eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. He was T-2nd at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, his best finish since Pebble Beach, three shots behind winner Justin Thomas. He won the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, becoming the 20th player to win his PGA Tour Champions debut. He opened with a 10-under 61, becoming the first player to shoot a sub-62 score in his first career round on PGA Tour Champions. Mickelson overcame a three-shot deficit to defeat Mike Weir by three in his second PGA Tour Champions start at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Mickelson became the third player to win his first two starts on the Champions Tour, joining Jim Furyk and Bruce Fleisher.
2021 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour events making 14 cuts with one top-ten finish. He was 70th in the FedExCup standings. Phil also won four times in six PGA Tour Champions events in the 2020/'21 season. His season started slowly as he didn't have his first top-25 until he finished T-25th at the Honda Classic. A month before that was T-20th at the Cologuard Classic. He showed signs of his old game at the Wells Fargo when he shot a first-round 64 to lead by two. It was short-lived as he shot 75-76-76 and finished 69th. So going into the PGA Championship, this was the first time in his career he hadn't had a finish better than his T-21st at the Masters. At the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, he opened up with a 70-69 and found himself co-leading with Louis Oosthuizen. A third-round 70 gave him the lead by one over Brooks Koepka, with whom he played the final round. In a tough final day in windy conditions, Mickelson shot 73, and it was good enough for a one-shot win over Koepka and Oosthuizen. The win, his sixth major championship, and second PGA Championship victory came at age 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days, making him the oldest major championship winner. He broke the record that Julis Boros achieved in 1968 by winning the PGA Championship at 48 years, 4 months, and 18 days. Another record that Mickelson broke with the victory, he became the first player in PGA Tour history to go over 30 years between his first and last win. Mickelson's first win came in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur and was 30 years, 4 months, and 10 days between that and the PGA Championship win. He became the eighth player in his 50s to win on the PGA Tour. The last time it happened was with Davis Love III at the 2015 Wyndham Championship. With six wins in majors, he became the 14th player to win six or more majors in their career. Joins Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo with six wins. Mickelson also joins David Love III, Raymond Floyd, and Sam Snead to win PGA Tour events in four decades. Mickelson was 115th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and his win makes him the lowest-ranked major winner since Shaun Micheel won the 2003 PGA Championship at 169th in the ranking. With the win climbed to 32nd in the rankings. With the win at the PGA, he worked hard to prepare for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines near his home. He opened up with a 75 and despite a second-round 69, finished with 76-75 and finished T-62nd. He played in the British Open but shot 80-72 to miss the cut. In the FedExCup Playoffs, missed the cut at the Northern Trust and T-66th at the BMW Championship. He succeeded on the PGA Tour Champions, won the Furyk & Friends, was T-47th at the Dominion Energy, and won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in six PGA Tour events with a best finish of T-30th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Finished T-18th at the Saudi International. In February, Mickelson announced he was taking time away from the game. He missed his first Masters since not playing in 1994. He also didn't play in the PGA Championship. He had played in 29 straight PGA Championships since 1993. Missed the cut at the U.S. Open and British Open.
2023 Notes: Missed the cut at the Saudi International. At the Masters shot a final round 65 to finish T-2nd, four shots back of winner Jon Rahm. Phil's 65 was the lowest score in Masters history by a player over 50. At 52, Mickelson is the oldest player to finish in the top five in the Masters and is the oldest man to finish runner-up in a major since Tom Watson at the 2009 British Open. He was T-58th at the PGA Championship and missed the cut at the U.S. Open and British Open.