Phil Mickelson becomes the oldest major winner with epic PGA Championship triumph

Phil Mickelson becomes the oldest major winner with epic PGA Championship triumph

Phil Mickelson became the oldest major champion ever by winning the PGA Championship on Sunday.

The 50-year-old veteran golfer Mickelson carded 1-over 73 at the challenging Ocean Beach course to win his 55th professional title.

The six-time major champion finished two shots ahead of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen at the second major event of the PGA Tour 2020-21 season.

"One of the moments I'll cherish my entire life,'' Mickelson said. "I don't know how to describe the feeling of excitement and fulfillment and accomplishment to do something of this magnitude when very few people thought that I could.''

"It may take a little extra work and harder effort to maintain the physicality or maintain the skills, but gosh is it worth it in the end.

"I just love this game, and I love what I do, and I love the challenge of competing against such great players."

Mickelson broke Julius Boros's record of the oldest major winner by winning the prestigious major tournament at 50 years. Boros won this title in 1968 at the age of 48. The lefty also joins England's Nick Faldo and American Lee Trevino as a six-time major winner. Only 11 players have won more.

"This is just an incredible feeling because I believed it was possible, but everything was saying it wasn't," Mickelson said.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, American Harry Higgs, and England's Paul Casey finished in a tie for fourth at two-under.

The PGA Championship had the largest and loudest crowd since the return from the COVID-19 pandemic.