Who Is Phil Mickelson?

The Makings of a Champion

Phil earned his psychology degree at Arizona State University after his 1991 win in Tucson and turned professional on the eve of the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, days after his 22nd birthday. He had won the U.S. Amateur in Cherry Hills in 1990, and like Arnold Palmer in U.S. Open there 30 years before, he started his final charge with a bold drive off the first tee to the well-guarded first hole. He had gone 3-0-1 in his second Walker Cup appearance. He had won the Western Amateur and the Porter Cup. He had signed his first endorsement contract, with Rolex. His was the most anticipated pro debut in a very long time.

That Thursday at Pebble he shot 68 and was tied for third place. The next day he shot 81 and was on his way home. The wild, what-will-Phil-do-next ride was officially underway. And along the way he would win three AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am titles at Pebble Beach, in 2007 with the record-tying score of 268.

Early in 1993 Phil won his first title as a pro at Torrey Pines, where he also played his high school golf matches, and another pattern was set. His first two and six of his first seven Tour wins came on the West Coast. By 2008, 16 of his 34 had come during the season-opening West Coast swing. In claiming the 2008 Northern Trust Open title at Riviera he joined Johnny Miller and Billy Casper as the only other winner of the West Coast Slam: Tucson, Phoenix, San Diego, the Mercedes, the Hope, Pebble Beach and Los Angeles. The next year he won again in Los Angeles, making it 17 of 35 career wins on the Left Coast.

In 1994 Phil watched 64-year-old Arnold Palmer trudge through searing heat and wilting humidity in the U.S. Open in Oakmont. It was Arnold’s last stand in the national championship and by day’s end he was stooped. Still, he spent more than an hour with the media and the volunteers, and Phil saw the enormous effect it had on those people. It was then and there that he decided to emulate Palmer, all these years later whether he shoots 64 or 74, he meets daily with the media and signs autographs for fans.
Other patterns emerged early, too. After skipping the GTE Byron Nelson Championship for two years Phil received a personal invitation from Lord Byron in 1996 and returned to win at TPC Las Colinas. That began a long and close relationship between the two men – Phil didn’t miss another appearance as long as Nelson was alive – and it was his third of 10 wins through 2008 on TPC courses. One of those, the 2006 BellSouth Classic, came at 28 under par, a personal best and third-best all-time on a par-72 course.
The spring of ’96 also marked Phil’s best finish in the Masters, a solo third, which he would repeat three more times. It was his fourth placement of joint seventh or better in his 11 major appearances as a pro and it confirmed his boyhood belief that he’d join Ballesteros in the Champions Locker Room at Augusta one day.

Fast forward to 2021, and to date, Phil has won 44 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), a PGA Championship (2005), and an Open Championship (2013). In August 2020. Mickelson made his debut on the PGA Tour Champions where he won the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National in his first tournament after becoming eligible for PGA Tour Champions. This happened on his 50th birthday on June 16, 2020! He was the 20th player to win their debut tournament on tour. Mickelson’s 191 stroke total tied the PGA Tour Champions all-time record for a three-day event.

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