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A Look Back at Phil Mickelson’s First Major Win

Kunal Singh
Published

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is one of the finest players who is still associated with the game of golf. With 57 professional victories including six major titles, he has achieved so much so far in his career. His major title victory spree started back in 2004 when he won the Masters Tournament at Augusta National. Interestingly, he took 12 long years after turning professional to record his first-ever major victory.

It was on April 11, 2004, when Phil Mickelson defeated South African golfer Ernie Els to win the prestigious green jacket by a margin of one stroke. He shot a blistering 18-foot birdie on the final hole of the Masters Tournament to get one stroke ahead of Els. For his phenomenal victory at Augusta National Golf Club, he was rewarded with a $1,170,000 paycheck.

Phil Mickelson’s campaign at the 2004 Masters Tournament started with a par 72 round on Thursday, April 9. However, the California-born golfer picked up pace and consistency in the next three days of the prestigious major tournament. He went on record 3 under 69 consecutively in the next three rounds and finally got a stroke margin victory.

Before winning the 2004 Masters Tournament, Phil Mickelson had already recorded seven top-10 finishes in his 11 appearances at Augusta National Golf Club. He had finished solo third spot on four occasions earlier. Also, he had 18 overall top-10 finishes across four majors.

When Did Phil Mickelson Record His Last Major Victory?

It was a great day of golf at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on May 23, 2021, when 50-year-11-month-old Phil Mickelson became the oldest golfer ever to win a major tournament. Young golfers Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen were left in awe when the six-time major champion got two strokes better of them to win the 103rd edition of the PGA Championship.

Phil Mickelson was three strokes behind the solo lead Corey Conners at the end of the first round at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. He shot a round of 3 under 69 on the second day of the 2021 PGA Championship to climb to the top spot on the leaderboard. Along with Louis Oosthuizen, he was the joint leader after the end of the first 36 holes.

On May 22, 2021, Mickelson shot a round of 2 under 70 in the tough conditions of Kiawah Island, South Carolina. This helped him to sit alone on the top spot after the end of the first 54 holes at the 2021 PGA Championship.

Finally, on Sunday, ‘lefty’ managed to record a 1 over 73 in the final round to get a two-stroke victory over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen to win his sixth major title, the 2021 PGA Championship. He was rewarded with the prestigious trophy and a paycheck of $2,160,000.

So far in his career, Phil Mickelson has been victorious thrice in the Masters Tournaments, twice in the PGA Championships, and once in The Open Championship. He is now lacking a US Open title in his trophy cabinet to complete his career grand slam. Who knows older Mickelson goes on to break his record by winning the prestigious major sooner or later!

Post Edited By:Manaal Siddiqui

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal Singh

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Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

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