Facts You Might Not Have Known About Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson

American professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf tour.

Transcript

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

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

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

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

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

00:14but actually that's wrong.

00:15Phil Mickelson is actually right-handed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

01:32Mickelson was born in Southern California but was also raised in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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

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

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

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

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

01:54Alongside his three wins, he has a whopping 15 top 10 finishes.

01:58As a left-hander who shapes the ball both ways, the Augusta National setup always favours Phil.

02:03So there you go, 10 facts you may or may not have known about Phil Mickelson,

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

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