Phil Mickelson has plenty of achievements to his name but when we look back to 1991, his greatest ever PGA Tour moment might have come in that year.
With Mickelson now on LIV Golf and seemingly entrenched in a never ending war of words against the PGA Tour, we can sometimes forget just how good he was.
Indeed, as a young golfer emerging in the early 1990s, Mickelson was very much a player creating a buzz around the world of golf.
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After already making his debut as an amateur, Mickelson was soon being tipped to get a win.
And it wouldn’t be long at all, as Mickelson put everyone on notice at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
What was special about Phil Mickelson’s first ever PGA Tour win
Some golfers will go through their entire career without winning. That’s just how it goes.
But not Phil Mickelson. As we now know, he’s won more than 40 times on the PGA Tour and it all started way back in 1991 at the Northern Telecom Open.
And more impressively, Mickelson won this event as an amateur.
Going into the event, only six players had ever won as an amateur before Mickelson rocked up and took the week by storm to win out.
Mickelson became only the seventh player to win on TOUR as an amateur and only the second golfer – along with Scott Verplank in 86 – to do it since the 50s.
Remarkably, the feat wasn’t matched again until 2024, when the impressive Nick Dunlap won The American Express to make it an eight-man club.
Phil Mickelson’s reaction to his first ever PGA Tour win
Despite winning so early on in his career, those who can remember back to Mickelson’s success will note he very much stayed on track with his education.
Speaking at the time of his win, Mickelson admitted he was looking forward to getting back in school.
“It was unbelievable to me how, as soon as the tournament was over, everybody was hurrying to catch a flight for Hawaii,” said Mickelson at the time.
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“I was so drained and so tired. There was no way I would have been able to play this week. That’s why right now I don’t feel that I’m ready to turn pro and play every day, week after week.
“I’m going to definitely stay in school this semester. I really like school right now, and that’s kind of the way I want to leave it. I’m trying to take it day by day.”
Now a multi-millionaire after years of success and then a huge LIV deal, Mickelson can look back on forgoing the $180,000 winner’s cheque for this event and know he hasn’t missed it.
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