Player
Profile
Mickelson
started playing golf at the age of one and a
half, playing left-handed as a mirror-image
of his father's swing ... When Phil got serious
about the game his father built a complete practice
area in the backyard of their home in San Diego
... Phil had a fabulous amateur career, winning
the 1989 and 1990 NCAA Championships and the
1990 U.S. Amateur, and was the consensus 1990
College Player of the Year; he was also the
low amateur (T29th) at 1990 U.S. Open and a
four-time All-American ... Mickelson won the
1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, becoming
the fifth youngest winner of a professional
event ever ... He turned professional at the
1992 U.S. Open, and since then has become the
3rd golfer (Jack Nicklaus and Jerry Pate are
the others) to win five events before age 25.
In 1996 he became the first golfer in over 20
years to win the Arizona slam (Nortel and Phoenix),
the last to accomplish that was Johnny Miller
... With his 10th win at Bay Hill in 1997, he
was the fourth youngest player to accomplish
that milestone (only Horton Smith, Gene Sarazen
and Jack Nicklaus were younger, Tiger Woods
has since joined that list) ... Though he plays
golf left-handed, is right-handed in everything
else ... One of only four male collegians (with
Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and Billy Ray Brown)
to win the NCAA title as a freshman ... One
of only three players (with Jack Nicklaus and
Tiger Woods) to win the NCAA and the U.S. Amateur
in the same year ... Led the 1996 money list
from January until the last week of the year
when Tom Lehman won the Tour Championship ...
His four wins were the most won on the PGA Tour
in 1996. ... Without winning in 1999 he broke
a streak in which he had won at least one PGA
Tour event every year since 1993 (six consecutive
years) ... One streak that is still alive, he
has won over a million dollars a year for the
last five years. He enjoyed his sixth multi-winner
year in 2000, and his second four-win season
His win in the 2000 Buick Invitational ended
Tiger Woods' victory streak at six.
PGA Tour Wins: 19 - 1990 Northern Telecom
Open (as an Amateur), 1993 Buick Invitational
of California, The International, 1994 Mercedes
Championship, 1995 Northern Telecom Open, 1996
Nortel Open, Phoenix Open, GTE Byron Nelson
Classic, NEC World Series of Golf, 1997 Bay
Hill Invitational, Sprint International, 1998
Mercedes Championship, AT&T Pebble Beach,
2000 Buick Invitational, BellSouth Classic,
MasterCard Colonial, Tour Championship, 2001
Buick Invitational, Canon Greater Hartford Open.
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