From the time the calendar flipped to January 1, 1900 – for you history buffs, the first electric bus became operational in New York City that day and the second Olympics Games began in Paris five months later – more than 16,800 players have teed it up on the PGA Tour.
In that span, more than 4,300 official PGA Tour events have hit the books, with 914 individual winners grasping championship hardware.
Of those, all of seven were 50 years or older.
Will Phil Mickelson make it eight?
History – and the odds – are against him. The only players to roll through the elderly roadblock on the PGA Tour were Craig Stadler, Fred Funk, John Barnum, James Barnes, Davis Love III, Art Wall, Jr., and Sam Snead, who was 52 years, 10 months and 8 days old when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open, making him the oldest to win on the PGA Tour.
But Mickelson, who turns 50 on June 16 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame eight years ago, has turned back the clock before in the latter part of his career. His two most recent of 44 wins – ninth on the all-time list – came at the 2018 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at age 47 and the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at age 48.
Lefty remains confident he can play at the highest level in professional golf and add to his Tour victory total. For now, he’ll hold off on booking passage to the PGA Tour Champions.
Good decision, his fellow PGA Tour brethren said.
“Oh, yeah, he’ll win again,” Brendan Steele said. “He’s hitting it farther probably than he ever has before, and in my opinion, one of the limiting factors if you’re going to win after 50 is length. Well, that’s not a factor for him.
“Now you add his short game, his wedge game, his putting, which is as good as most any player, there’s no reason for him not to think he can play and compete on the PGA Tour for a number of years still.”
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And while Farther Time marches on, Steele said Mickelson remains a big kid.
“He’s always coming up with new shots that he can implement into his game. And that’s part of his charm – he’s always trying to come up with stuff to get better,” Steele said. “Some of it doesn’t work but some of it he’ll be able to pull it off and it’s incredible. He always gets excited about new shots, new clubs, new strategies, all these different things, and I think that’s what keeps him young.
“I definitely think the drive is there, the enthusiasm is there, the skill is there, it’s all there, so he can definitely continue to win. And I think he can win, and I know this could be crazy, but I think he can the Masters in his mid- to late-50s. I know that would be wild but I don’t see any reason why he can’t.”
Others are of the same mindset.
“He will contend in the Masters for another 10 years,” Keegan Bradley said. “He loves that place and knows that place so well. And he loves golf so much and works at it so much. Yeah, he’ll win again. I think he’ll win multiple times.”
Age may be against him, but it won’t get the best of him, his colleagues said.
“I don’t have any doubt in my mind he’ll win again, because he’s still so passionate about it, still practices really hard, plays a ton of golf. And he’s still very, very good,” Brandt Snedeker said. “He loves the game of golf. I can’t think of any guy on Tour who really loves the game of golf more. In that aspect he reminds me of Arnold Palmer. Not just because of the way he is with the fans, but because Arnold literally until his last day on this earth wanted to go out and play golf. He wanted to go practice, tinker with his clubs. Phil is very similar in that regard. Phil is always trying new equipment, he is always out there playing golf, he’s always trying something new.
“I think it’s so cool to see somebody so passionate about it. That’s the one thing I love about Phil; literally every day he’s trying to find a new way to do what he does better. And there are very few people who still do that.”
More on Mickelson’s chase
Colt Knost
“Turning 50 is tough but he’s in the best shape of his life and he’s working hard. He’s a once-in-a-generation talent. He knows he can compete and win out on the Tour. I think he’ll get it done.”
Gary Woodland
“I played with him last year in the Phoenix Open and he played as poorly as I’ve seen him. He hit the golf ball all over the map, played awful, shot a million and missed the cut. And then he won the next week at Pebble Beach. His short game is so good. If he drives the golf ball semi in play, the rest of his game is so good and his confidence is so good, yes, he can win. I would never count him out. I think it would be foolish to count him out.”
Kevin Kisner
“He still has the game to win. If he just wouldn’t try to hit so many bombs and put more balls in the fairway, he’d have a better shot. Phil is the most unbelievable iron player I have ever seen for as bad a driver of the golf ball he is. And he’ll tell you that. It’s not like I’m bashing him. His short game is still phenomenal, his desire is there, he works hard. He’ll win again.”
Charley Hoffman
“Yes, he will win again. It might be on the Champions Tour but he will win again. I’m joking. He can win on the Tour. First of all, the guy is absolutely crushing it with his driver. He’s hitting amazing bombs. If he keeps doing that and gets the other stuff where it should be, I think he’ll win with ease. I think what’s been struggling in his short game has been his putting, which has been a strength throughout his career and he’ll figure it out. He’s figured out the driving part, and he’s killing it, and you have to hit it far. And he has that distance. So there is no question in my mind he will win again on the PGA Tour.”
Jim Furyk
“He’s motivate and driven. The talent level is there. His short game and putting are still phenomenal, his iron play is still great. He doesn’t hit a ton of fairways but when he does, look out.”
Zach Johnson
“Yes, he will win again. Because he’s really, really good at golf. He has all the shots. He hits it plenty far. And you have to find the edge and he has the edge. He knows how to win. And his imagination if as good as anyone’s and he can be a really good putter. And he wants to win. He’s starting to take care of himself, too. He’s probably in the best shape he’s been in in years. Absolutely he can win.”
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