Mickelson’s momentous moment

PGA Championship 2021 R4
May 20-23
Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, SC
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

 

KIAWAH ISLAND, SC. Phil Mickelson’s career has been one of epic highs and devastating lows.

Lefty’s improbable win at The Ocean Course in South Carolina’s Lowcountry along the Atlantic Ocean showcased a high of unprecedented stature. Mickelson became the oldest winner of a major championship at 50 years of age — surpassing the previous mark set by Julius Boros who won the 1968 PGA Championship at the age of 48.

Mickelson’s last major victory came in 2013 at The Open Championship at Muirfield and his last PGA Tour win came in February 2019 at the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. He is now tied for 12th in terms of major championships victories with six and added his second PGA Championship — the first coming in 2005 at Baltusrol GC in New Jersey.

 

 Coming into the 103rd PGA Championship Mickelson had not cracked the top 20 in any PGA Tour event played this seaon. Oddsmakers had him at no less than 200-1 odds and his world ranking had him at 115th — he’s now 32nd. 

Entering the final round with a one-stroke lead and playing in the final twosome with four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, Mickelson knew full well the need to play at a high level given the qualities of Koepka and those chasing him. Beyond the nature of the competition was the daunting challenge presented by The Ocean Course which proved vexing to all competitors throughout the four days of the competition.

Mickelson fired a final round of 73 and 282 total — outlasting co-runners-up Koepka and South African Louis Oosthuizen who finished with a 284 total.

The on-site gallery — limited to roughly 10,000 because of pandemic protocols — were clearly engaged to lend their support to Mickelson as soon as he stepped onto the 1st tee.

The demands of The Ocean Course provided for constant tension on nearly every shot for the main contenders. Mickelson opened with a bogey on the 1st hole — rebounded with a birdie at the 2nd — then bogied the 3rd. Koepka momentarily tied for the lead with an opening birdie but fell back with a double-bogey at the par-5 2nd.

 

The pair would trade major shot swings throughout the outward nine with Mickelson holing out a greenside bunker shot at the par-3 5th and then following-up with a bogey at the par-4 6th and rebounding for a birdie at the par-5 7th. 

Koekpa would close the margin with a birdie at the 6th but inexplicably a pushed 3-metal club at the par-5 7th resulted in another debilitating bogey. 

As the two exited the par-4 9th — it was Mickelson who held a two-shot lead.

With nine holes to play Mickelson expanded his lead at the par-4 10th with a sensational birdie courtesy of a wonderfully played approach shot and a 15-foot birdie putt. Koepka continued his uncharacteristic erratic play with another bogey – the lead growing to four shots.

 

 Oosthuizen hovered in the mix but a deflating double-bogey on Sunday’s most difficult 13th hole derailed his efforts.

Koepka made a late round move with consecutive birdies at the 15th and 16th hole — and was aided by back-to-back bogies by Mickelson at the 13th and 14th holes. The lead narrowed to two shots as the final pairing made their way to the 18th tee. Mickelson found the left rough with his tee shot but his 9-iron approach to the center of the green left him with a 20-foot putt which he easily two-putted to seal his triumph.

 

 For much of his career Mickelson has played in the considerable shadow of Tiger Woods. That shadow prevented Mickelson from ever being ranked number one in the world. The win at The Ocean Course has pushed his already considerable stature even higher and for once Mickelson has done something in his accomplished career that neither Woods, nor any other golfers has ever done, win a major at 50 years, 11 months and 7 days. 

Mickelson displayed a revamped physique and a committed mental process that worked superbly in tandem with his brother Tim who serves as Phil’s caddie. The interplay between the two was certainly evident and above all else — meaningful.

 

 As Mickelson approached the final green the crowd engulfed both players. In the same manner that supporters flocked around Woods when winning the ’18 Tour Championship, the gallery at Kiawah was certainly buoyant having played a meaningful role in supporting Mickelson to victory.

The next major arrives in June with the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Club. It is a San Diego course Mickelson grew up playing and he has won the Farmers Insurance event three times. The USGA had extended Mickelson an exemption to play in the event and Phil’s play this week showed how prescient they were in doing so.

The lone major Phil has never won is the U.S. Open — being runner-up a record six times. A win in June would mean becoming the 6th golfer to have won the career grand slam. What seemed unlikely before this week’s PGA Championship cannot now be summarily dismissed. Clearly his odds for that event will not be anywhere near what they were for the PGA Championship. He now returns to his childhood venue in grand style.

 

Final notes —

*Rickie Fowler, granted a special exemption into this year’s event, had his best finish in a major with a T8 since the 2019 Open Championship when he earned a T6. Fowler played well on the weekend with rounds of 69-71.

*A total of 13 players scored in the 60s during the final round. The low 18-hole round for the event was shot by Abraham Ancer scoring a seven-under-par 65.

*Defending champion Colin Morikawa finished T8 along with rising star Will Zalatoris, this year’s Masters runner-up.

*Wind direction for the final round did what forecasters expected. For the first three rounds a northeast wind blew. For the final round winds changed to the prevailing southwest direction causing players to make major adjustments in terms of club selection. The 18th and 17th — the two most difficult holes for the first three rounds — played much easier with helping wind for the final 18 holes.

*Ireland had two of its favorite sons in the mix during Sunday’s final round. Padraig Harrington, who is 49 and turns 50 in August, finished in a T4th with fellow countryman Shane Lowry.

*Kudos to the PGA of America in opting to move its flagship event to the May time frame which commenced with the 2019 event. Going from the August time frame to May and in following the Masters has smartly positioned the event between the Masters and U.S. Open.

*An additional acknowledgement to Kerry Haigh of the PGA of America in once again demonstrating the wherewithal to properly prepare a site for a major event. The Ocean Course was a formidable test and while the layout presented scoring opportunities it only did so when proper execution was carried out.

*Mickelson’s win only adds to the pressure USA Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker faces when announcing selections for the American team in the next few months. Phil has been a member of every team going back to 1995 but his last performance in 2018 in Paris was hardly a highlight as he was beaten decisively in his singles match against Francesco Molinari to provide the decisive point for Team Europe’s resounding win. With Phil’s win at Kiawah — Stricker may have to ponder if including a revitalized Mickelson as one of his six Captain’s picks will be an added plus as the USA attempts to win back the Cup. This year’s matches are to be played in late September at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Mickelson has played in a record 12 matches for Team USA.

 

 *The 104th PGA Championship in 2022 will be played at the Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, OK. The site was included after the original venue Trump National Bedminster (NJ) was shelved by the PGA of America given the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the connection with then President Donald Trump.

 

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Phil Mickelson	-6	70	69	70	73	282
T2	Louis Oosthuizen	-4	71	68	72	73	284
T2	Brooks Koepka	-4	69	71	70	74	284
T4	Shane Lowry	-2	73	71	73	69	286
T4	Padraig Harrington	-2	71	73	73	69	286
T4	Harry Higgs	-2	72	71	73	70	286
T4	Paul Casey	-2	71	71	73	71	286
T8	Abraham Ancer	-1	74	72	76	65	287
T8	Justin Rose	-1	72	75	73	67	287
T8	Collin Morikawa	-1	70	75	74	68	287
T8	Jon Rahm	-1	72	75	72	68	287
T8	Will Zalatoris	-1	71	74	72	70	287
T8	Scottie Scheffler	-1	72	74	71	70	287
T8	Tony Finau	-1	74	72	70	71	287
T8	Rickie Fowler	-1	71	76	69	71	287
T8	Kevin Streelman	-1	70	72	70	75	287
T17	Aaron Wise	E	69	79	72	68	288
T17	Patrick Reed	E	74	75	69	70	288
T17	Charley Hoffman	E	73	70	73	72	288
T17	Keegan Bradley	E	69	75	72	72	288
T17	Sungjae Im	E	70	72	73	73	288
T17	Corey Conners	E	67	75	73	73	288
T23	Chan Kim	1	75	74	73	67	289
T23	Jason Scrivener	1	73	75	72	69	289
T23	Martin Laird	1	70	73	74	72	289
T23	Hideki Matsuyama	1	73	68	76	72	289
T23	Billy Horschel	1	77	72	68	72	289
T23	Matt Fitzpatrick	1	73	71	72	73	289
T23	Patrick Cantlay	1	73	73	70	73	289
T30	Matt Jones	2	73	75	74	68	290
T30	Stewart Cink	2	71	76	74	69	290
T30	Viktor Hovland	2	69	75	75	71	290
T30	Webb Simpson	2	75	74	69	72	290
T30	Ian Poulter	2	74	70	73	73	290
T30	Jordan Spieth	2	73	75	68	74	290
T30	Joaquin Niemann	2	71	72	71	76	290
T30	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	2	71	70	72	77	290
T38	Emiliano Grillo	3	77	72	72	70	291
T38	Tyrrell Hatton	3	71	75	73	72	291
T38	Richy Werenski	3	71	72	73	75	291
T38	Gary Woodland	3	70	72	72	77	291
T38	Bryson DeChambeau	3	72	71	71	77	291
T38	Branden Grace	3	70	71	72	78	291
T44	Jason Day	4	74	75	72	71	292
T44	Daniel van Tonder	4	75	70	74	73	292
T44	Talor Gooch	4	71	78	70	73	292
T44	Ben Cook	4	72	77	69	74	292
T44	Steve Stricker	4	76	71	70	75	292
T49	Byeong Hun An	5	73	75	77	68	293
T49	Sam Horsfield	5	69	80	73	71	293
T49	Rory McIlroy	5	75	72	74	72	293
T49	Robert MacIntyre	5	75	73	72	73	293
T49	Harold Varner III	5	73	76	71	73	293
T49	Jason Kokrak	5	71	72	73	77	293
T55	Matt Wallace	6	73	73	77	71	294
T55	Alex Noren	6	77	72	70	75	294
T55	Carlos Ortiz	6	73	74	71	76	294
T55	Joel Dahmen	6	74	73	70	77	294
T59	Robert Streb	7	77	72	74	72	295
T59	Cam Davis	7	69	78	76	72	295
T59	Dean Burmester	7	74	74	74	73	295
T59	Denny McCarthy	7	73	76	72	74	295
T59	Cameron Smith	7	72	73	73	77	295
T64	Garrick Higgo	8	73	76	78	69	296
T64	Henrik Stenson	8	73	76	76	71	296
T64	Adam Hadwin	8	77	71	76	72	296
T64	Harris English	8	75	74	75	72	296
T64	Tom Hoge	8	74	75	74	73	296
T64	Jimmy Walker	8	73	74	75	74	296
T64	Danny Willett	8	77	71	74	74	296
T71	Lucas Herbert	9	76	72	77	72	297
T71	Russell Henley	9	78	70	74	75	297
T71	Tom Lewis	9	71	74	76	76	297
T71	Lee Westwood	9	73	72	75	77	297
T75	Daniel Berger	10	79	69	74	76	298
T75	Wyndham Clark	10	75	74	72	77	298
77	Brendan Steele	11	75	74	77	73	299
78	Brad Marek	12	73	73	78	76	300
79	Rasmus Hojgaard	13	71	76	79	75	301
80	Bubba Watson	14	72	73	77	80	302
81	Brian Gay	18	77	71	80	78	306
CUT	Andy Sullivan	6	73	77			150
CUT	Brian Harman	6	75	75			150
CUT	Antoine Rozner	6	79	71			150
CUT	Chez Reavie	6	77	73			150
CUT	Dustin Johnson	6	76	74			150
CUT	Sergio Garcia	6	77	73			150
CUT	Victor Perez	6	78	72			150
CUT	Mackenzie Hughes	6	75	75			150
CUT	Marc Leishman	6	74	76			150
CUT	Adam Scott	6	78	72			150
CUT	Xander Schauffele	6	73	77			150
CUT	Justin Thomas	6	75	75			150
CUT	Peter Malnati	6	78	72			150
CUT	Si Woo Kim	7	75	76			151
CUT	Sebastian Munoz	7	77	74			151
CUT	Rich Beem	7	74	77			151
CUT	Tommy Fleetwood	7	76	75			151
CUT	Maverick McNealy	7	78	73			151
CUT	Brendon Todd	7	74	77			151
CUT	Thomas Detry	7	76	75			151
CUT	Danny Balin	8	79	73			152
CUT	Chris Kirk	8	76	76			152
CUT	Cameron Tringale	8	70	82			152
CUT	Dylan Frittelli	8	73	79			152
CUT	Jason Dufner	8	71	81			152
CUT	Zach Johnson	8	74	78			152
CUT	Ryan Palmer	8	74	78			152
CUT	Martin Kaymer	8	75	77			152
CUT	Lanto Griffin	8	74	78			152
CUT	Jim Herman	9	78	75			153
CUT	J.T. Poston	9	75	78			153
CUT	Greg Koch	9	76	77			153
CUT	Bernd Wiesberger	9	78	75			153
CUT	Hudson Swafford	9	77	76			153
CUT	Erik van Rooyen	9	72	81			153
CUT	Kurt Kitayama	10	77	77			154
CUT	Sami Valimaki	10	78	76			154
CUT	Max Homa	10	78	76			154
CUT	Matt Kuchar	10	77	77			154
CUT	Adam Long	10	72	82			154
CUT	George Coetzee	10	75	79			154
CUT	John Catlin	10	75	79			154
CUT	Kevin Kisner	10	77	77			154
CUT	Brett Walker	10	77	77			154
CUT	Kalle Samooja	10	74	80			154
CUT	Pete Ballo	11	80	75			155
CUT	K.H. Lee	11	78	77			155
CUT	Charl Schwartzel	11	76	79			155
CUT	Tim Pearce	12	79	77			156
CUT	Aaron Rai	12	81	75			156
CUT	Ben Polland	12	76	80			156
CUT	Mark Geddes	12	75	81			156
CUT	Jazz Janewattananond	13	77	80			157
CUT	Rob Labritz	13	76	81			157
CUT	Brandon Hagy	13	77	80			157
CUT	Kevin Na	13	79	78			157
CUT	Cameron Champ	15	82	77			159
CUT	Stuart Smith	15	82	77			159
CUT	Rikuya Hoshino	15	76	83			159
CUT	Thomas Pieters	16	76	84			160
CUT	Alex Beach	17	75	86			161
CUT	Shaun Micheel	17	81	80			161
CUT	Brandon Stone	17	78	83			161
CUT	Takumi Kanaya	17	75	86			161
CUT	Patrick Rada	18	76	86			162
CUT	Sonny Skinner	19	85	78			163
CUT	Larkin Gross	20	80	84			164
CUT	Frank Bensel, Jr.	21	86	79			165
CUT	Joe Summerhays	21	81	84			165
CUT	Omar Uresti	21	82	83			165
CUT	Derek Holmes	21	79	86			165
CUT	Tyler Collet	26	88	82			170
CUT	John Daly	27	85	86			171
WD	Sam Burns	E	41				41
DQ	Y.E. Yang	E	75	83			158