Phil Mickelson - The Road to Oldest Major Winner at the 2021 PGA Championship

There was a time in the annals golf history when every fan and media outlet jokingly referred to Phil Mickelson as one of the only top tour players to never have won a major. Lefty has now come full circle and added a title that is one for the record books that may stand for quite some time - the "OLDEST golfer to have won a major" with his victory at the 2021 PGA Championship in my home state of South Carolina.

Mickelson's first major championship win at The Masters 2004 came during his thirteenth year on the PGA Tour and, although he won PGA tournaments like the 1996 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, his eyes were on the elite of championships which has confounded him. Phil's last major win came at the Muirfield 2013 Open and time seems to have stopped since then while Lefty battled with physical maladies. 

The one major tournament which has eluded Mickelson's grasp to date is the U.S. Open. With 29 appearances, the heartbreak is painful for Phil who considered not playing in the 2021 U.S. Open but finally giving it one more college try by recently accepting a special exemption to the event.

“Winning the U.S. Open has been a lifelong and elusive dream, and I’ve come close so many times,” Mickelson said. “You can’t win if you don’t play. I’m honored and appreciative of the USGA for the opportunity and look forward to playing in my hometown on a golf course I grew up on.”

Perhaps Mickelson has found his groove with a combination of diet and exercise changes designed to enhance his mental and physical prowess.

This week, it appears that the former "fun" Phil Mickelson who took wild and crazy chances had been replaced by a safe and strategy-oriented golfer...and the results proved themselves as Lefty wound up lifting the Wanamaker trophy.

As the next chapter of Mickelson's career gains momentum from a rockstar win at the 2021 PGA Championship, Golf for Beginners looks forward to reporting a win for Mickelson at his hometown golf course at the U.S. Open.

Photo: Wikipedia

Top Golf Instructor Gives Masters Tips from Inside-the-Ropes

Almost every golf fan caught at least a glimpse of The Masters this past week and many of us had favorable weather where we could go out and imagine ourselves at Augusta National, fist-pumping as we rolled in birdie putts.

Mike Bender, top-five-ranked PGA teaching professional and director of instruction at The Mike Bender Golf Academy at Magnolia Plantation Golf Club (and Zach Johnson's instructor as well as many other greats of the game) was inside-the-ropes this week at the first major tournament of the year. 

Bender sat down for a Q and A Zoom video with V1 Sports’ Mandy Von See, host of “Tuesday Traces".

Golf for Beginners took a few snippets from the conversation that related to the way the average golfer can improve his or her game. We hope that you take away some lessons for the golf season!

Golf Questions and Answers with Mike Bender

How do you coach your players to deal with the nerves on the opening shot?

I will tell you a funny story. Back in the day, I remember Zach Johnson playing in (The Memorial Tournament) at Muirfield Village and tee times came out and he said he called his wife and he said, "Guess who we're playing with?" and she said "Tiger Woods?" He says, "No, bigger than that." After this long silence, she suddenly realizes it's Jack Nicklaus. Zach was paired with Jack Nicklaus at his own tournament, and they had like a 12 o'clock tee time with 10,000 people around the first tee. So anyway, I called Zach on Thursday night and asked, "How was that opening tee shot?" He said he was so nervous he couldn't swallow a BB. He said, "Well, I knew I couldn't pass. I had to play, so I visualized great shots I've had in the past, and I ran my routine." I striped it right down the middle. Everybody gets nervous but the players, you know, stick to the routine and they're OK. They've hit so many great shots under pressure and so forth and they're off to a great start."

What is the key to hitting irons consistently?

Everything comes down to the proper delivery of the club into the ball. You could say anybody who's very consistent in golf is delivering the club the same way into the ball. Being able to hit down on your shots and compress the ball - which helps to stabilize the clubface - and controlling that clubface is another key component to hitting good iron shots. I try to make sure people come in on the correct plane because that helps them produce more lag. Lag helps to get your hands more forward. That, in turn, helps you get down on the ball, so it's kind of a domino effect. I definitely want to hit down on the ball and control the clubface.

Read: How Much Does It Cost to Attend The Masters?

What one drill would you do to get a consistent downswing?

I look at things like one domino falling against the other and they run down the list. So many times, I see people with so much tension in their shoulders and their forearms and they start their downswing more with their upper body, and they start rotating a little early and that's where they can shift the plane and come in and have all kinds of different release habits. If that's the case, I have the drills I get people to do. We work on trying to accelerate and be more relaxed in their arms and get their hands moving toward the golf ball. We do a lot of things when we do a fold-up drill with an impact bag up against the wall that helps get people to do that. We have a handful of drills that we do to work on that particular aspect of the swing because it is such a big deal.

Where do you prefer to see a golfer’s weight in the putting stroke?

I like players that have more weight on their left side (for right-hand golfers). Primarily, it's so there isn't any transfer of weight during the stroke. Favoring the left side and keeping the weight, consistent, you can minimize any lower body motion and you can have a little bit more of a pure stroke with your shoulders, as opposed to having any kind of movement in the lower body.

Although Tiger Woods was noticeably invisible from this year's Masters, this was, as always, a terrific tournament as only Augusta National can offer. Congratulations to Hideki Matsuyama for his brilliant performance!

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