Mickelson "Best Moment of My Life"... "Next Target is Career Slam~"

Completing Oldest Major Win at PGA Championship, Challenging to Sweep All Four Different Majors at US Open on 17th Next Month

Phil Mickelson is cheering immediately after winning the 103rd PGA Championship. Kiawah Island (South Carolina, USA) = Getty Images / Photo by Multivitz

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "The next target is the Career Grand Slam."

The ‘51-year-old veteran’ Phil Mickelson (USA) has gained the momentum to become the sixth ‘Career Grand Slam winner’ in global golf history. On the 24th (Korean time), he won the 103rd PGA Championship (total prize money $12 million) held at Kiawah Island Ocean Course (par 72, 7,876 yards) in South Carolina, USA, marking his 45th PGA Tour victory including six major wins, his first major victory in 2 years and 3 months since the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

Mickelson set the record for the oldest major winner (50 years and 11 months) and also secured an automatic entry to the US Open, which will be held on the night of the 17th of next month at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California. It is interesting that the US Open is the final puzzle to sweep all four different major championships. He won the Masters in 2004, the PGA Championship in 2005, and The Open Championship in 2013. Moreover, he has suffered the pain of finishing second six times at the US Open in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2013.

The ‘Career Grand Slam’ has been achieved by only five players: Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan (both USA), Gary Player (South Africa), Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods (both USA). Woods notably created a new history with ‘four consecutive major wins’ from the 2000 US Open to the PGA Championship, The Open, and the following year’s Masters. Currently, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) holds the Masters, Jordan Spieth the PGA Championship, and Mickelson is eager to claim the US Open trophy.

Mickelson finished tied for 28th in his first attempt in 2014. He had significant off-course concerns due to an FBI investigation into ‘insider stock trading.’ He was accused of making substantial profits from large option purchase orders during the announcement of Carl Icahn’s takeover of Clorox in July 2011, when the stock price surged 8.9% in one day. In 2015, after a poor third round with 7 over par, he finished tied for 64th, and in 2016, he missed the cut.

In 2017, he gave up participation altogether due to a schedule conflict with his eldest daughter Amanda’s high school graduation ceremony. He finished tied for 48th in 2018, tied for 52nd in 2019, and missed the cut again last year, increasingly moving away from the winning circle as he ages. Mickelson expressed his solemn determination, saying, "Although I secured a US Open ticket for five years with the PGA Championship win, I think this year is practically my last chance," and "I will rest for two weeks starting next week and then go straight to Torrey Pines to practice." He added, "I will give it my all."

Phil Mickelson will challenge the 'Career Grand Slam' at the US Open on the 17th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.