Even for Phil Mickelson, this magical PGA Championship win was remarkable
Larry Bohannan
Golf has a new debate: Where in the pantheon of unbelievable victories does Phil Mickelson's 2021 PGA Championship victory rank?
The only people who believed Mickelson had a chance to win the PGA at Kiawah Island over the weekend were probably Mickelson and his immediate family members, and one or two of them likely had doubts. A month short of his 51st birthday, making the cut and producing a decent performance, like he did at the Masters in April, was probably all even the most ardent Mickelson fans could have hoped for.
But Mickelson has made a career of popping up with winning performances when he is a forgotten man among the storylines, whether he was being overshadowed by other players or his own poor play coming into an event.
This Mickelson win will last forever, though, and may rank as the win that fans will remember most from an already remarkable career. Mickelson, the host of The American Express event in La Quinta in January, is now the oldest winner of a major title. He also has won a major title 17 years after his first major win at the 2004 Masters and has major title victories in three different decades.
The candidates that rival Mickelson's stunning PGA Championship win are obvious. The list starts with Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters, six years after his previous major win. Nicklaus shot a brilliant final round to hold off names like Seve Ballesteros, Tom Kite, Nick Price and Greg Norman for a victory no one expected.
Tiger Woods produced an incredible win at the 2019 Masters. Woods was just 43 at the time, but it appeared to everyone that Woods' career was finished because of debilitating back problems and a variety of surgeries. But as contenders like Francesco Molinari and Tony Finau melted away, Woods did everything he needed to produce a major title to match his 2000 and 2008 wins in the U.S. Open.
Tom at Turnberry
Tom Watson had a chance to write the greatest major championship story of all time in 2009 when, at 59, he stood in the middle of the 18th hole at Turnberry in Scotland with just a par between him and a sixth British Open title. But Watson bogeyed the hole, then lost the playoff to Stewart Cink. Cink practically apologized later for winning the title instead of Watson, but Watson's run at the major title won't be forgotten.
There have been other surprises by players in their 40s in majors, like Julius Boros becoming the oldest major championship winner — until now — when he slipped past Arnold Palmer to win the 1968 PGA in San Antonio. Sam Snead, who holds all kinds of age records in golf, was third in the PGA in 1974 at 62. A year earlier, he made the cut at the U.S. Open at 61.
But Watson and Snead didn't win a major in their 50s, and Mickelson has. Mickelson becomes the first golfer to win a major after already winning on the PGA Tour Champions. His 45th career win now ties him with Walter Hagen for eighth on the all-time tour wins list. It means U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker has a new member of his team later this year, and it means Mickelson can hand that special exemption into next month's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines back to the United States Golf Association, because Mickelson is now fully exempt for years to come.
Love Phil or dislike him, and there are those in both camps after his lengthy career, Mickelson's win Sunday is one for the ages. Mickelson might just pick up a phone and call Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, a pup at 43 years old, and ask the six-time Super Bowl winner what he plans to be doing at 50.
Mickelson's win certainly ranks with those of Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters and Woods at the 2019 Masters. Is it better? That's where the debate can rage on.
One thing is for sure. Mickelson's already large legend in professional golf grew by leaps and bounds Sunday.
What do you have for us at the U.S. Open next month, Phil?
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @Larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Desert Sun.