"The round of my life"- When Phil Mickelson bounced back from US Open heartbreak to triumph at the 2013 Open Championship
In over three decades of his professional golf career, Phil Mickelson has bagged 45 PGA Tour titles, including six Major championships. He won his only Open Championship title in 2013, just a month after his runner-up finish at the US Open.
Following his sixth US Open heartbreak, Mickelson managed to clinch his fifth Major championship at Muirfield Golf Links. He carded rounds of 69, 74, 72, and a brilliant 66 over the four days to secure a three-stroke victory over Henrik Stenson.
During the winner's press conference, Mickelson described his Sunday performance as the best round of his career.
"This is such an accomplishment because I never knew if I'd be able to develop my game to play links golf," he said as per BBC. "I never knew whether I would be equipped, have the shots, have the opportunity to do this."
"We had such firm, fast conditions here, the epitome of links golf, to putt better than I've ever putted, to shoot the round of my life feels amazing," he added.
The win was special for Phil considering this was just a month after a heartbreak at the Merion Golf Club. He said it felt amazing to come back and use the defeat as a motivation and turn it around in just a month.
"After losing the US Open, it could have easily gone south, where I was so deflated I had a hard time coming back," he said in a press conference. "But I looked at it and thought I was playing really good golf.
"I had been playing some of the best in my career. And I didn't want it to stop me from potential victories this year, and some potential great play. And I'm glad I didn't, because I worked a little bit harder."
Before his 2013 win, Phil Mickelson had just two top-ten finishes at the oldest major. He had also finished as a runner-up a couple of years earlier but had missed the cut in 2012.
When did Phil Mickelson last win a major?
Phil Mickelson's last win in a major came at the PGA Championship in 2021, where he secured a two-shot victory over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen to claim his sixth major championship. With this win, the then 50-year-old golfer became the oldest major champion in history.
Since his sixth major win, Phil Mickelson has remained winless and has yet to claim another professional title. He came close in 2023, finishing joint runner-up at the Masters. However, that result was more due to a late surge, as his second-place finish was driven by a final-round 65.
Notably, Mickelson equaled his lowest score at Augusta with that performance and also became the oldest runner-up in major history.