Lefty’s national championship sun set in 2019, when he tied for 52nd at Pebble Beach on his 49th birthday.
Becoming the oldest major champion at the PGA Championship was the final piece of a legacy that didn’t need any padding.
The six-time runner-up has played every role from emotional supporting actor, like at the ’99 championship when he finished a shot behind the late Payne Stewart just before becoming a father, to tragic hero, there are a few to choose from but ’06 at Winged Foot is the consensus best in class.
Open title on the South Course, which isn’t even on the menu, it would be the most compelling possible narrative this week.
This all goes to a deeper divide between Mickelson and Torrey Pines, following Rees Jones’ redesign of the South Course in 2001.
“I just have tried to do too much in the past,” Mickelson said.
I have a chance to prepare properly, and I wanted to put in the right work,” he said.