Phil Mickelson's greatest moments in golf are inseparable from his personality: aggressive, imaginative, and occasionally spectacular in the wrong direction. His career produced six major championships, a Hall of Fame induction, and moments of short game brilliance that influenced how a generation of golfers thought about what was possible around the green.
These ten moments are ranked by their place in the game's history and the degree to which they revealed what made Mickelson different from every other player of his era. The full creative range of his game, from the flop shot to the links charge at Muirfield, is represented across the list.
2021 PGA Championship: Oldest Major Champion in History
Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island at age 50, becoming the oldest major champion in golf history. He led from the first round and withstood a final-day charge from Brooks Koepka to win by two shots. The performance, coming after years of near-misses and questions about whether his best golf was behind him, stands as one of the most improbable results in the history of professional golf.
2004 Masters: The First Major
Phil Mickelson won the 2004 Masters at Augusta National, his first major championship after 46 previous attempts and years of near-misses that had made the question of whether he would ever win one a defining narrative of early 2000s golf. He birdied the final hole and punched the air in a moment of pure release. The fist pump on the 18th green at Augusta became one of the iconic images of the decade in golf.
2013 Open Championship: The Back Nine 30 at Muirfield
Phil Mickelson shot 30 on the back nine in the final round of the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, coming from five shots behind to win. The closing stretch included five birdies in the last six holes, played in difficult links conditions. He finished at three under par in a field where the course was taking apart most of the competition. It is considered one of the finest closing rounds in Open Championship history.
2010 Masters: Back Nine Charge to a Second Green Jacket
Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters with a final round 67 that included birdies on both 17 and 18, coming from behind to win his third major. He had played the tournament with his wife Amy recovering from breast cancer, and his walk to embrace her after the final putt was among the most emotional moments Augusta National has produced. He won by three shots.
The Flop Shot at the 1999 US Open
Phil Mickelson's flop shot from a buried lie against a close-cut bank at Pinehurst during the 1999 US Open, hoisted almost vertically into the air and stopping within feet of the hole, became the defining demonstration of his short game imagination. The shot did not win him the tournament, but it established his reputation as the most creative wedge player in the world and defined how a generation of amateurs thought about the lob shot.
2006 Masters: Back-to-Back Green Jackets
Phil Mickelson won the 2006 Masters to become only the third player in the tournament's history to win consecutive titles, joining Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus. He shot 69 in the final round, birdying three of the last seven holes to win by two shots over Tim Clark. The back-to-back confirmed that his 2004 win was not a breakthrough but the beginning of a major championship era.
The Walk-Off Eagle at Augusta 13th: 2010
During the final round of the 2010 Masters, Phil Mickelson made eagle on the par-5 13th hole at Augusta National, the shot that gave him a decisive lead and effectively ended the tournament as a contest. He hit a 6 iron from 207 yards to six feet and made the putt. The combination of club selection and execution from that distance under final-round Masters pressure is one of the most impressive single shots of his career.
2005 PGA Championship: Back Nine at Baltusrol
Phil Mickelson won the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol, his second major in two years. He shot a final round 66, making four birdies on the back nine in conditions that held most of the field. The win confirmed that his 2004 Masters breakthrough had begun a period of genuine major championship contention rather than a single peak.
The Bunker Hole-Out at Pebble Beach: 2012 AT&T
During the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Phil Mickelson holed a bunker shot on the 18th hole for eagle to win the tournament. The shot was struck from the greenside bunker and went directly into the hole, producing one of the most dramatic walk-off moments of his PGA Tour career. He pumped his fist before the ball had landed, a moment of competitive theatre that encapsulated his instinct for the dramatic.
Ryder Cup 2004: Character Under Pressure
The 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills was a historic defeat for the United States team, with Europe winning 18.5 to 9.5. Mickelson's performance that week, in a team environment under scrutiny as one of the team's most prominent players, demonstrated a dimension of his career that is easy to overlook when assessing only his individual results. How he handled defeat in a team context and returned repeatedly to Ryder Cup competition is part of the full picture of his career.
What is Phil Mickelson's greatest shot?
Phil Mickelson's greatest shot is widely considered to be his 6-iron eagle at Augusta National's 13th hole during the final round of the 2010 Masters: 207 yards to six feet in final-round Masters conditions. His flop shot at the 1999 US Open is the most famous demonstration of his short game imagination, but the eagle at 13 is the shot most directly responsible for a major championship outcome.
How old was Phil Mickelson when he won the PGA Championship?
Phil Mickelson was 50 years old when he won the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, making him the oldest major champion in golf history. The previous record was held by Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at 48. Mickelson's win came seventeen years after his first major championship at the 2004 Masters.
What are Phil Mickelson's best major wins?
Phil Mickelson won six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), one Open Championship (2013), and two PGA Championships (2005, 2021). His 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, won with a back nine of 30 in links conditions, is considered his most technically impressive major. His 2021 PGA Championship at 50 is considered his most historically significant.