‘It’s been an incredible day.’ Phil Mickelson, at 50, is golf’s oldest major champion

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This article was published 23/05/2021 (1945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In sports and life, Father Time is undefeated. But Sunday at the PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson took him down — and flashed his trademark thumbs up while doing it.

Mickelson, who turns 51 next month, became the oldest major champion in golf history Sunday. He finished at 6-under at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, defeating Louis Oosthuizen and Brooks Koepka by two shots. Julius Boros had been the oldest, winning the 1968 PGA Championship at 48.

“I believed for a long time that I could play at this level again. I just didn’t see why it couldn’t be done, said Mickelson. “It just took a little bit more effort.”

Sunday was another example of why golf is the most unpredictable of sports. This, frankly, wasn’t supposed to happen — despite Mickelson recently changing his diet, his on-course focus and his effort in the gym.

The Ocean Course, designed by Pete and Alice Dye, was the longest major championship venue in history at 7,876 yards, and its difficult reputation preceded it.

Mickelson, who hadn’t had a top-10 finish at a major championship in five years, came in ranked 176th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: tee to green. Over four rounds, he was first in the same category.

“I’ve believed for some time now, without success, that I could play at my best and compete in major championships still. But until this week, I haven’t proven it to myself or anyone else,” admitted Mickelson.

This was his second PGA Championship win (the first was in 2005) and sixth major title, tying Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo for 12th on the all-time list.

Despite all the success Mickelson has had — he’s won 45 times in all on the PGA Tour including as an amateur in 1991 — there has also been plenty of heartbreak. For part of Sunday, it looked as if we were headed in that direction again.

It started before his first shot on the course, as his caddy/brother Tim was seen racing to retrieve a backup club. Mickelson cracked his low-lofted 2-wood on the driving range and had to find a replacement quickly. And after a bogey on the first hole, there was a two-shot swing with Koepka, who made birdie. Through seven holes the lead had changed hands three times between Koepka and Mickelson.

“It’s been exhausting just to watch it,” Jim Nantz said on the CBS broadcast.

Regardless of the rocky start, Mickelson stayed calm — even when the raucous South Carolinian crowd started clamouring. Tournament officials dropped the ropes and let the 10,000-strong crowd get close as the final group walked up the 18th hole. They got a little too close (“Getting dinged a few times isn’t exactly my idea of fun,” said Koepka) but Mickelson, ever the showman, embraced the noise.

“It’s an incredible experience. I’ve never had something like that. It was a little bit unnerving, but it was exceptionally awesome, too,” said Mickelson.

He managed to stay in the present for one last hole. He said doing that all week was the key.

“It’s been an incredible day, and I’ve not let myself kind of think about the results until now,” said Mickelson. “I just love this game of golf and I love what I do, and I love the challenge of competing against such great players.”

Mickelson’s result, not surprisingly, was well received by many of those great players — even one long-time rival who didn’t play: Tiger Woods, who took to Twitter to pass along his congratulations.

Canadian Corey Conners echoed Woods’ kudos, calling Mickelson’s victory “pretty impressive.” Conners, however, said he will leave Kiawah Island with a “sour taste” in his mouth.”

Despite starting the tournament with a 5-under 67 and holding the 18-hole lead, Conners didn’t break par the rest of the weekend. He finished tied for 17th after a 1-over 73 on Sunday. It was his 14th top-25 finish in just 20 tournaments this season. He’s getting more comfortable at major championships, he said, and already looking ahead to the U.S. Open next month.

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“I feel like my game is really well suited for the majors in tough conditions,” Conners said after the final round. “Just another confidence builder, a good learning experience. I was really close and ultimately came up a bit short, but a lot of positives.”

Conners put himself in good spots to climb the leaderboard, but couldn’t take advantage. The native of Listowel, Ont., had nine birdie tries from 25 feet or less in the final round, but missed them all. He also missed a four-footer for par on 14.

“It definitely could have been better,” said Conners. “I was a little more aggressive, I felt today, on quite a few of the birdie putts and I just didn’t get them to fall.”

Adam Hadwin, the other Canadian who made the weekend cut, finished with his best round of the tournament. An even-par 72 left him at 8-over and tied for 64th.

Adam Stanley is an Ottawa-based contributor to the Star’s Sports section and the host of golf podcast Next Round’s On Me. Follow him on Twitter: @adam_stanley