Phil Mickelson made history on Sunday by becoming the oldest player in PGA history to win a major tournament, finishing 6-under 282 at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina to secure the victory.
That brings the 50-year-old’s total major win count to six, and it’s his first win since the 2013 Open Championship.
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Mickelson, who will turn 51 next month, finished two strokes ahead of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen. He shot a 70 in Round 1, a 69 in Round 2, a 70 in Round 3 and a 73 in Round 4, bringing his total score for the tournament to 282.
Mickelson sat tied for eighth after the first round, sitting at 2-under while Corey Conners led the way at 5-under. In Round 2, Mickelson was able to pull away from the pack. He shot his best round of the tournament, thanks in part to a 5-under 31 on the back nine, that put him in a tie for the lead with Oosthuizen.
In Round 3, Lefty had an opportunity to really get a lead. At one point, he was five strokes ahead of the next best score, but with a few missed birdie putts and a double bogey, the lead was just one stroke, as Koepka continued to pursue the veteran.
The final round was not pretty for Mickelson. Luckily for him, it wasn’t for any of his contenders, either. Mickelson, Oosthuizen and Koepka all had their worst rounds to end the day, each shooting over par on the round. Mickelson managed just two birdies and had three bogeys on the back nine that left the door open for either of the other two to take the lead. But Oosthuizen shot a double bogey on the 13th hole that left him just out of reach for the win, and Koepka’s double bogey on the first hole and four bogeys, including three on the first four holes of the back nine, was enough to give Mickelson the win.
Golf
Here’s how the top members of the final scoreboard finished:
1. Phil Mickelson: -6
T-2. Louis Oosthuizen: -4
T-2. Brooks Koepka: -4
T-4. Padraig Harrington: -2
T-4. Shane Lowry: -2
T-4. Harry Higgs: -2
T-4. Paul Casey: -2
Bryan Murphy contributed to this story.