10 Interesting Facts About Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson

Golf Monthly

American professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf tour.

Transcript

00:00 Phil Mickelson is one of the most well-known names in golf.

00:03 He's also one of the best left-handed golfers

00:04 to ever play the game.

00:06 He's been around for a long time now,

00:07 but how much do you know about Phil Mickelson?

00:10 We'll find out in this video.

00:11 One thing we think we all know about Phil

00:13 is that he's left-handed, but actually that's wrong.

00:15 Phil Mickelson is actually right-handed.

00:17 The only thing he does left-handed is play golf.

00:19 He learned the game by mirroring his father,

00:21 who was right-handed, and it's also worth noting

00:24 that he started playing golf when he was just 18 months old.

00:26 Phil is only one of five players

00:28 to win the US Amateur and NCAA Championship title

00:31 in the same season, and this was when he was studying

00:33 at Arizona State University.

00:34 The only other players to do that are Bryson DeChambeau,

00:37 Ryan Moore, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

00:39 Phil was the last amateur to win a PGA Tour event.

00:42 This was back at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

00:46 Since then, he's gone on to win six majors

00:48 and sits second on the PGA Tour's all-time leader.

00:52 Speaking of majors, despite his six wins,

00:54 Mickelson is yet to achieve golf's grand slam,

00:57 as he's never won the US Open.

00:59 He's finished runner-up at the US Open a whopping six times.

01:02 Now, we all know Phil Mickelson can fly the golf ball

01:05 a long way, but did you know that he can also fly a plane?

01:08 Phil is an avid pilot and followed the footsteps

01:11 of his father, who was a Navy pilot.

01:13 Despite his highly decorated career,

01:15 Phil Mickelson has never been world number one.

01:17 So, even with 45 PGA Tour wins, six majors,

01:21 and 24 Ryder Cup and President's Cup appearances,

01:24 lefty has never been top of the world ranking.

01:27 He honed his extensive and creative short game

01:29 in the backyard of his family's San Diego house.

01:31 Mickelson was born in Southern California,

01:33 but was also raised in Scottsdale, Arizona.

01:36 From Scottsdale, he then studied at Arizona State University,

01:40 where other notable graduates include

01:42 John Rahm and Paul Casey.

01:44 His maternal grandfather, Alfred Santos,

01:46 was a caddie at Pebble Beach,

01:48 and often took Phil to play golf as a child.

01:50 Phil Mickelson is one of the most decorated players

01:52 at the Masters.

01:54 Alongside his three wins,

01:55 he has a whopping 15 top 10 finishes.

01:57 As a left-hander who shapes the ball both ways,

02:00 the Augusta National Setup always favors Phil.

02:03 So, there you go, 10 facts you may or may not have known

02:06 about Phil Mickelson, one of golf's greatest ever players.

02:09 For more facts and stats on tour players,

02:11 you can visit the Golf Monthly website.

02:13 (upbeat music)

02:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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