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The Success and The Failures of Lefthanders in Sports

Phil Mickelson is an American professional golfer who turned pro in 1992 after a very successful collegiate career at Arizona State University.  When he won his first PGA tour event in 1991 at the age of 20 (and while still an amateur), he became just the 5th lefthanded golfer ever to win a PGA tour event.  Bob Charles had his 6 wins, and Sam Adams, Ernie Gonzales, and Russ Cochran each had 1, before Mickelson came along.  He has secured his place as the best lefthanded golfer to ever play the game, and is considered by many as one of the top golfers of all-time.

Mickelson won 2 more PGA tour events in 1993, 1 each in 1994 and 1995.  He won 4 time in 1996, 2 each in 1997 and 1998.  He did not win any in 1999, then won 4 more in 2000, and 2 each in 2001 and 2002.  Despite all of that success, the one thing that eluded him through those years was a win in one of the four majors.  He finally broke through by winning the Masters Tournament in 2004, and then the PGA Championship in 2005.  Since then he has won the Masters 2 more times (2006 and 2010), and The Open Championship in 2013 (his 42nd PGA Tour Victory).  Victory at the US Open still eludes him, although he has finished 2nd, or tied for 2nd, 6 different times.

Mickelson continued to win consistently on the PGA tour, with at least 1 victory in every year from 2004 through 2013.  For the next few years he was beset by injuries and other distractions, going without a tour victory from 2014 to 2017, but still finished in the money enough to win over $2,000,000 each year.  He returned to the winners circle in 2018 at the World Golf Championships, and again in 2019 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM.  Mickelson continues to play in PGA events, but since he turned 50 years old he has also completed on the Champions/Senior Tour, where he won the first two events he played in before letting some of the other seniors win again.

While Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus had the greatest rivalry on the 20th century, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have had an equal rivalry in the 21st century.  While there have been many other great golfers on the PGA tour during their time playing against each other, their battles for tour victories have been legendary.  Since Woods turned professional in 1996, and for the next 15 years or more, they have been considered the two best players in the game.  Woods is the career money leader with over $113,000,000, and Mickelson is 2nd with $92,434,994

As the best lefthanded golfer of his time, Mickelson has earned and embraced the nickname of “Lefty”, but Mickelson is righthanded in almost every other way except for playing golf.  He learned to play golf lefthanded by “mirror imitating” his fathers’ righthanded swing.  While we appreciate what he has accomplished as a lefthanded golfer, we don’t think that “Lefty” is an appropriate nickname for someone who is predominantly righthanded.

The Best Lefthanded Golfers of All Time

Phil Mickelson