10 Interesting Facts About Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson

American professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf tour.

Transcript

00:00 Phil Mickelson is one of the most well-known names in golf.

00:03 He's also one of the best left-handed golfers to ever play the game.

00:06 He's been around for a long time now but how much do you know about Phil Mickelson?

00:10 We'll find out in this video.

00:11 One thing we think we all know about Phil is that he's left-handed

00:14 but actually that's wrong.

00:15 Phil Mickelson is actually right-handed.

00:17 The only thing he does left-handed is play golf.

00:20 He learned the game by mirroring his father who was right-handed

00:22 and it's also worth noting that he started playing golf when he was just 18 months old.

00:26 Phil is only one of five players to win the US Amateur and NCAA Championship title

00:31 in the same season and this was when he was studying at Arizona State University.

00:34 The only other players to do that are Bryson Tshambo,

00:37 Ryan Moore, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

00:40 Phil was the last amateur to win a PGA Tour event.

00:43 This was back at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

00:46 Since then he's gone on to win six majors and sits second on the PGA Tour's all-time money list.

00:52 Speaking of majors, despite his six wins,

00:54 Mickelson is yet to achieve golf's grand slam as he's never won the US Open.

00:59 He's finished runner-up at the US Open a whopping six times.

01:02 Now we all know Phil Mickelson can fly the golf ball a long way

01:06 but did you know that he can also fly a plane?

01:08 Phil is an avid pilot and followed the footsteps of his father who was a Navy pilot.

01:13 Despite his highly decorated career, Phil Mickelson has never been world number one.

01:17 So even with 45 PGA Tour wins, six majors and 24 Ryder Cup and President's Cup appearances,

01:24 lefty has never been top of the world ranking.

01:27 He honed his extensive and creative short game in the backyard of his family's San Diego house.

01:31 Mickelson was born in Southern California but was also raised in Scottsdale, Arizona.

01:36 From Scottsdale he then studied at Arizona State University

01:40 where other notable graduates include John Rahm and Paul Casey.

01:44 His maternal grandfather Alfred Santos was a caddy at Pebble Beach

01:48 and often took Phil to play golf as a child.

01:50 Phil Mickelson is one of the most decorated players at the Masters.

01:53 Alongside his three wins, he has a whopping 15 top 10 finishes.

01:57 As a left-hander who shapes the ball both ways,

02:00 the Augusta National setup always favours Phil.

02:02 So there you go, 10 facts you may or may not have known about Phil Mickelson,

02:07 one of golf's greatest ever players.

02:09 For more facts and stats on tour players, you can visit the Golf Monthly website.

02:13 [ Music ]