Phil Mickelson has enjoyed a fantastic major championship career, which has involved six wins so far.
Mickelson will be hoping that record isn’t finished just yet, particularly given that he needs just one more win for the career grand slam.
The American has won The Masters, the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, but not the US Open.
Mickelson should have won the US Open, but it somehow hasn’t happened for the veteran, who is now playing on LIV Golf.
Phil Mickelson said he would watch The Masters as a fan over the other majors
Intriguingly, the American legend strongly suggested which of the four majors is his favorite once upon a time.
It arrived during a discussion ahead of The Masters in 2001, when he was asked if he was a fan, which major would he go to and how much would he pay to get in.
Mickelson replied: “Well, it would depend on how much money I had. I don’t mind paying for seats at the Super Bowl or the Final Four or whatever it is. So, I would like to think that I would pay a reasonable amount to watch.
“I think that there’s no question I would pick the Masters, for the simple reason that every year, history is made here. Something occurs that we remember forever, every single year.
“It could be ’97, Tiger [Woods] breaking the record, yes. It could be ’92, Fred Couples’ ball hanging up on the bridge, up on the wall there on 12.
“Or Ian Woosnam’s putt from six feet on 18 in his fist. Every year history is made. Gene Sarazen’s hole-out on 15 with a 4-wood there. So to be able to walk the premises where for decades history has been made, we could not substitute.
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“And obviously great courses like Pebble Beach and Merion and Pinehurst and wonderful courses we have hosted U.S. Opens on, sure, we have had some wonderful things occur there, but you can count them on a single hand how many events they have played there.
“Sure, we remember ’72 [Jack] Nicklaus’ iron hitting the pin, and then [Tom] Watson’s chip-in, but that doesn’t happen every year. That happened once every ten years.
“I think to be able to walk the premises here is a very special feeling. I think what I have seen in the last seven or eight years of coming here is that the members here hold that very dear to them.
“They take it upon themselves to maintain the integrity of the game with the event. That’s what we talked about, no commercialism earlier, the pristine conditions of the golf course.
“It requires a lot of dollars to have something maintained like that. And really, no other golf course is able to do that.
“I think that the premises here have a very special feeling, and to be able to walk them, whether it be as a spectator or as a player, especially, it’s a wonderful feeling.”
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Where Phil Mickelson said he would sit at Augusta National to watch The Masters
Of course, Mickelson has been far too busy playing at The Masters over the years to be able to attend as a fan.
Heading into the tournament in 2001, he had claimed four top 10 finishes in eight appearances, including third in 1996.
Continuing the discussion from a fan perspective, the home favorite was also asked where he would sit for a day’s action at Augusta.
He said: “I would go for logistics most likely, which would mean right there by 12 tee, because you can see all of the action on 11, 12 and tee off on 13, that’s just logistics.
“I think that it just so happens that Amen Corner has provided a lot of drama in the past, and it seems to be a pretty good spot.”
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Mickelson would go on to claim three wins at The Masters shortly after, triumphing in 2004, 2006 and 2010.
But 2001 was a very similar story for him and the entire golfing world, with the American finishing third as Tiger Woods came out on top.
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