Golf Talk With Greg Holman – #30

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Phil wins the PGA! Phil wins the PGA! Phil wins the PGA! The odds were 300-1, but he beat them all, the young bucks and the seasoned pros. At 50, Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to win a Major Tournament on the longest course in PGA history, which we documented last week.

The Ocean course at Kiawah Island might be the toughest test on Tour. Distance was not going to be the problem for “Lefty” in my mind, it was keeping his concentration for 72 brutal holes. Phil admitted he had been having trouble concentrating on tour, but last weekend he thought his way around the seaside links with precision and made fewer mistakes than his peers to post a 6 under par 282 to win by 2 strokes over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen.

One of the few things I was right about was the winning score. The week before, -15 won the AT&T Byron Nelson Tournament outside Dallas. I predicted -5 would win the PGA and I was right on par. But, few gave Phil Mickelson a chance, including yours truly. Collin Morikawa, the defending champion shot a brilliant -4, 68 in the final, but it was too late. Phil and playing partner Brooks Koepka each shot +1 Sunday.

With the win Mickelson is now in some elite company with 6 Major championships. Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino each won 6 Majors in their storied careers.

The U.S. Open is the next Major on Father’s Day Weekend. Does Phil have a chance? I’m going to say no again. By the way I mentioned earlier that Phil can still move it out there. He had 2 of the longest drives in the tournament on Sunday in the PGA so he is still physically capable if he can harness what’s between the ears.

Hit ’em straight!