Philip Alfred Mickelson, who was born 16 June 1970 and nicknamed Lefty, is an American pro golfer. He has netted 45 events on the PGA Tour, in addition to six major tournaments: three Masters titles (2004, 2006 and 2010), two PGA Championships (2005 and 2021) as well as one Open Championship (2013). With his success at the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in golfing history at the age of 50 years, 11 months and seven days old. Mickelson is one of 17 players in the history of golf to win at least three of the four majors. He has won every major except the U.S. Open, in which he has finished runner-up a record six times.

Where He Started

Mickelson took to golf at a very young age, hitting his first golf balls at the tender age 18 months. He learned the fundamentals of the sport through mirroring his father’s swing. Phil inherited his love of golf from his airline pilot father who spent a lot of time showing him the ropes on both the golf course and their own home practice area. The naturally right-handed Phil adopted the left-handed stroke which would later lead to his nickname, “Lefty”.

He won many San Diego-area tournaments as a junior golfer, and he captured an extraordinary three successive national Junior Player of the Year awards (1986, 1987 and 1988). His golfing prowess netted him a full scholarship to Arizona State University (ASU), where he created a status as one of the greatest American amateur golfers of all time.

Phil was named as the first-team All-American in every one of his four years at ASU. He won a total of three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) individual championships (1989, 1990 and 1992). In 1990 he won the US Amateur Championship and, the following year, he won his first PGA Tour event, the Northern Telecom Open, becoming only the fourth amateur to win a PGA tournament.

His Net Worth

Phil won the PGA Championship in May 2021 and so became the oldest major winner in golfing history at 50 and giving him six major titles in total. He went on a hiatus from golf competition after whipping up a lot of controversy with the February 2021 publication of his remarks that he was willing to overlook alleged human rights violations in Saudi Arabia as he looked at joining an upcoming golf league. Sponsors – including Workday and KPMG – dropped him, however the loss in endorsements was offset by $6 million that he won from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Programme and the August 2021 sale of six golf courses.

During his time spent at Arizona State University, he met his future wife, Amy McBride. The couple were married in 1996 and have three children. In 2009, Amy was diagnosed as having breast cancer and Mickelson took time off from the tour to be with her through treatment. By his 2010 Masters triumph, she was in remission, and the couple shared an emotional celebration like they’d won big with online slots in Canada on the 18th green.