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. He's also one of the best left-handed

00:04golfers to ever play the game. He's been around for a long time now, but how much do you know

00:08about Phil Mickelson? We'll find out in this video. One thing we think we all know about Phil

00:13is that he's left-handed, but actually that's wrong. Phil Mickelson is actually right-handed.

00:18The only thing he does left-handed is play golf. He learned the game by mirroring his father,

00:21who was right-handed, and it's also worth noting that he started playing golf when he was just 18

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

00:31same season, and this was when he was studying at Arizona State University. The only other players

00:35to do that are Bryson DeChambeau, Ryan Moore, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Phil was the last amateur

00:41to win a PGA Tour event. This was back at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open. Since then, he's gone on to

00:47win six majors and sits second on the PGA Tour's all-time money list. Speaking of majors, despite his

00:54six wins, Mickelson is yet to achieve golf's Grand Slam, as he's never won the US Open. He's finished

00:59runner-up at the US Open a whopping six times. Now, we all know Phil Mickelson can fly the golf ball

01:05a long way, but did you know that he can also fly a plane? Phil is an avid pilot and following the

01:10footsteps of his father, who was a Navy pilot. Despite his highly decorated career, Phil Mickelson has never

01:16been world number one. So, even with 45 PGA Tour wins, six majors, and 24 Ryder Cup and President's Cup

01:23appearances, Lefty has never been top of the world ranking. He honed his extensive and creative

01:29short game in the backyard of his family's San Diego house. Mickelson was born in Southern California,

01:33but was also raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. From Scottsdale, he then studied at Arizona State University,

01:40where other notable graduates include John Rahm and Paul Casey. His maternal grandfather, Alfred Santos,

01:46was a caddie at Pebble Beach and often took Phil to play golf as a child. Phil Mickelson is one of the

01:51most decorated players at the Masters. Alongside 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 set-up always favours Phil.

02:03So, there you go, 10 facts you may or may not have known about Phil Mickelson, one of golf's greatest

02:08ever players. For more facts and stats on tour players, you can visit the Golf Monthly website.