The USA has produced quite famous golfers over the years and likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is one of them. Phil Mickelson who is nicknamed as “lefty” aged 48 and plays professional golf with three major titles against his name out of four in his career. There are so many distinctions associated with Phil Mickelson as he has been victorious in 43 events in his PGA tour. He is tall 6ft and 3in to be exact and he is in good shape right now. Another great milestone which he achieved was being in the top 10 list for the span of 700 weeks.
Phil plays with his right hand but as you must be thinking by now that why he is known as lefty then? Actually, it has to do with his swing of left-handed and he said that he had learned this shot from his father who would play right-handed swing in a similar fashion. Right now you are going to read some of the interesting facts about his life and professional career.
As a Professional Golfer
First of all, you need to be very fortunate to play golf as a profession and even if you do so then there is a very minimal possibility that you will be in the limelight. Phil Mickelson has not only been playing golf but he has bagged 3 major titles out of 4 and for the record, there are only 16 golfers who have done so.
Other titles
PGA tour in golf is like something that every professional golfer dreams to play. In the case of Phil, he has won 43 events on the PGA tour with the distinction of winning five major championships and three masters titles. Most of his wins have come in the 2000s and he saw a peak in that era. He won PGA championship back in 2005 and whoever has watched his performance will not be able to forget it for a long time. Recently he is not winning that much as he has also gone through surgeries.
Prodigy
It is a well-known fact in many sports that if you happen to be playing it since your childhood then you have got a good chance to become extraordinary in it. Same goes for Phil Mickelson as he started playing gold even before starting his school. Luckily he was born in the family of a professional golfer who himself played tremendously. According to family sources, he had started practicing with his father who would take Phil along with him in and out for the practice. That was one of the reasons how the world found out golf prodigy in him.
As an Amateur Player
Phil Mickelson started his career a bit early as discussed above and that is the reason why he was exposed to the tournaments for amateurs. He consecutively went on to win three NCAA individual championships which were the indication of the start of a tremendous career. When he won all those tournaments then right after that he got admitted to the university where he would complete his further studies. By that time the golf pundits in the USA specially and out of USA were aware of Phil’s passion for the game and they had predicted his great future ahead.
Tale of January 1991
Who would have thought to see Phil Mickelson would win PGA tour just at the age of 21 years, of course not even himself? It was back in 1991 when Phil won the PGA tour event. That particular PGA tour event was organized in Tucson. This was the rise of a new golfer in the USA and this tournament really helped him in years to come as far as his professional career was concerned.
Famous Left Handed Swing
Phil plays with his right hand but he is nicknamed “Lefty” and many of you would be surprised to know this fact. He started playing at the age of 2 and by the age of 20, he was ready to play left-handed swing which other golfers of his age could only imagine. In one of the US amateur tournaments back in 1990 he won the tournament by playing left-handed swing and he was the only to have achieved this feat by then.
Sun Devils, NCAA, and Phil Mickelson
It was the same year 1990 Phil Mickelson was ready to lead Sun Devils and he had become a good golfer at that time. Under his leadership, Sun Devils won the event and he himself established as a rising star in the whole USA.
Richest Athlete
Currently, Phil Mickelson is not in a good form but mind you he has been declared one of the highest paid athletes in the whole USA. There are so many world famous companies where he gets his endorsements. Just a few years back in 2015 Forbes published that Phil’s annual income was around $51 million. He has also been involved in social cause along with his wife.
Last Major Title
The early decade of the 2000s has been very fortunate for this brilliant golfer as he managed to win his last major in that too. The year 2006 marked as last major victory registered by Phil Mickelson. This was also the time when he was ranked as the second-best golfer in the world just after woods. Back in 2006 he also won many other tournaments.
Conclusion
Phil Mickelson is not only the star of the USA but he has proved himself to be a great example for the whole world with his hard work and perseverance. He proved that talent alone cannot take you higher than the certain place as he worked hard and achieved milestones.