This one was for the ages. Everything about it was unforgettable. The setting (Muirfield's hallowed ground in Scotland, a golf course that deigns to crown only legends); the player (the mercurial and thrilling Phil Mickelson, a beloved 43-year-old Californian inducing goose bumps and emotions); the performance (a final-round 66 when a final-round 66 at Muirfield was a ludicrous ask, four birdies in his final six holes to surge past a leader board of monster names, to pass Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods and Adam Scott and to stamp this Open into the annals as an all-time great).
And by extension, to further stamp Mickelson's already great career that much farther up the ladder of all-time great careers.
You can dust off all kinds of statistics that show Lefty's career arc ascending into the stratosphere, like joining Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three different majors since 1980. But, first, focus on the very nature of Mickelson's five career major triumphs, a number that sees him leave the likes of Ernie Els and Raymond Floyd behind on four, and sees him join the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson on five.
All five wins are portraits of Lefty-ness; dashing and daring victories seized by the risk-taking Mickelson, never once handed over by a faltering competitor. To wit:
• 2004 Masters: The first major for Phil may have been the sweetest, at least until Sunday at Muirfield nine years later. Suffocating in a golf world owned by Tiger Woods, Mickelson broke through and gulped down the sweet air, finally. He did it at a venue that caters to his thrill-seeking game, in front of fans who adore his swashbuckling style. In a heated duel with Els, Mickelson came to the 18th tee having birdied four of his last six holes – then made it five of his last seven on 18,punctuated by a mighty effort to leap in the air. He shot a back-nine 31 and made the Big Easy feel the Big Pain, winning by one on his final stroke. A classic barnstorming finish.
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