Today in History: Phil Mickelson bags his first major victory at The Masters
Phil Mickelson waited nearly 12 years after turning professional before he won his first major championship title at the 2004 Masters.
Phil Mickelson won his first PGA Tour title as an amateur all the way back in 1991, when he won the Northern Telecom Open in Arizona.
He would earn himself eight second and third place finishes at major championships in the 12 years before The Masters, earning himself the title of the best player to not win the major.
Throughout his career, Mickelson has made himself known as someone who can rescue a hole from anywhere, and is widely regarded as one of the (if not the) best players to yield a wedge around the green.
For a taste of the sheer brilliance of Mickelson’s recovery shot prowess, here is the PGA Tour’s list of Mickelson’s Top 10 recovery shots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q4Qhcaulyc
Mickelson rid himself of the appellation ‘best player to not win the major’ at the 2004 Masters however, as he managed to hold off an in-form Ernie Els in the last round.
His week didn’t get off to the worst or the best of starts when he carded an even par 72 in the first round to stand five shots off the lead.
He would finish the second round three shots back of Englishman Justin Rose who stood at –3.
The turning point of Mickelson’s tournament came on moving day, when Rose shot an 81, while the other two members of the Top 3 after Round 2 also performed horribly.
After a third round 69, he was tied for the lead with American Chris DiMarco at –6.
The final day would be a nerve-wracking one for Mickelson, as South African Ernie Els charged his way up the leaderboard to second place at –8.
Els was two groups ahead of Mickelson, so Phil was well aware of the threat.
‘Lefty’, as Mickelson is more affectionately known, managed to hold off Els with a remarkable 31 (–5) on the back nine to resurrect his round after a dismal 38 (+2) on the front nine.
Mickelson downed a 5,5m birdie on the last hole to clinch the green jacket, one shot ahead of the Big Easy.
You can relive the winning moment along with some of the final round highlights here:
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