The five biggest wins by Phil Mickelson under coach Butch Harmon
Wednesday 11 November 2015 11:21, UK
Phil Mickelson announced last week that he had parted company with coach Butch Harmon after eight years together, and here we look at the top five victories of their successful partnership.
2007 Players Championship
Soon after hiring Harmon as his swing coach, Mickelson landed golf's "fifth major" with a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia at Sawgrass.
Mickelson's ball-striking was in fine order as he edged ahead of playing-partner Sean O'Hair, who kept pace with the left-hander until coming to grief at the notorious 17th hole.
Feeling he had to take dead aim at the pin, O'Hair flushed a nine-iron which sailed over the green and into the water, and he dunked his second ball into the lake and ended up with a quadruple-bogey seven.
Dropping from second to 11th cost O'Hair just under $750,000 in prize money, but that mattered little to Mickelson as he claimed his second PGA Tour title of the season, and the 31st of his career.
Mickelson missed only two greens in regulation as he closed with a solid three-under 69 to win on 11 under par.
And after being handed the 18th flag by his caddie Jim Mackay, Mickelson wrote on it; "Butch, the 1st of many".
2009 WGC-CA Championship
Mickelson defied a severe stomach virus to lift his first World Golf Championship title with a wire-to-wire victory in the WGC-CA Championship at Doral.
The left-hander was weak and dehydrated to the extent that he took himself off to hospital after the third round, when he followed up his 65 and 66 with a solid 69 to share the 54-hole lead with Nick Watney.
The lead changed hands seven times over just 11 holes in the final round, but Watney's bogey on the par-five 12th gave Mickelson a lead he would not relinquish.
Watney, who was also coached by Harmon, almost forced a play-off when his 30-foot putt for birdie on the final hole stopped barely an inch from the cup, and Mickelson tapped in for another 69 to win on 19 under.
"It took a lot out of me," said Mickelson. "I haven't eaten much in three days. I fought hard. I've been playing some of my best golf, and I'm very excited to have finished it off."
2009 TOUR Championship
There were mixed emotions for Mickelson after he ended his 2009 PGA Tour campaign with an impressive win at the Tour Championship.
Mickelson recovered from an opening 73 with rounds of 67, 66 and then a closing 65 at East Lake to earn a three-shot victory over arch-rival Tiger Woods, but the win was not enough to prevent Woods from claiming the $10m bonus as FedExCup champion.
However, seeing Woods collect yet another sizeable cheque would have mattered little to Mickelson, whose win was his first since both his wife Amy and his mother were diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring.
Not that Mickelson's payday was small though - he picked up the $1.35m winner's prize in addition to a cool $3m for finishing second behind Woods in the overall FedExCup standings.
The manner of his victory was also a morale boost, turning a four-shot deficit after 54 holes into a convincing triumph thanks to some pure ball-striking backed up by assured putting - as well as a cheeky chip-in for birdie at 16 which effective secured the title.
"I like the way the day went," said Mickelson afterwards. "I was two behind Tiger, beat him by three. He gets $10m, I get $4m, but I've got no problem with that. I just love holding this trophy.
"It means a lot to finish off the year on such a good note. We've been through a lot and I'm very proud of my wife and my mom on the fight they've been through."
2010 Masters
Mickelson ended a four-year major drought when he won his third Green Jacket after an enthralling final-day battle with Lee Westwood at Augusta National.
Westwood held a one-shot lead after 54 holes, but he was pressured into making mistakes at key stages during the final round as Mickelson's sublime shot-making propelled him to a three-shot triumph.
The Englishman twice hit back from bogeys with immediate birdies early on and kept his nose in front until Mickelson's first birdie of the day at the eighth, and a Westwood bogey at nine proved a pivotal moment.
The left-hander then showed his class around Amen Corner, converting an excellent tee-shot to 12 for birdie before pulling off the shot of the tournament at the next. He opted to go for the green in two despite being in the pine straw, and he threaded a remarkable six-iron through a small gap in the trees and knocked it to six feet.
It was a bit of a let-down when he missed the putt for eagle, but he made another cast-iron four at the long 15th and wrapped up victory in style with a birdie at 18 to cap a flawless 67.
"I'm in love with this place. It just brings out the best in me," said Mickelson after his first major win since linking up with Butch Harmon, who added: "I've never seen him drive the ball this good, it's giving him a lot of confidence."
2013 Open Championship
After 20 years of struggling at The Open, Mickelson produced arguably the best round of his career to earn a stunning victory at Muirfield.
Just a week after winning the Scottish Open title, Mickelson claimed an unprecedented double after a sensational final-day 66 which featured four birdies over the final six holes.
Undaunted by one of the toughest closing stretches in major championship golf, Mickelson left his rivals trailing in his wake with birdies at 14, 15, 17 and 18 as he finished on three under par - the only man to be under the card for the tournament.
Mickelson was five adrift of leader Lee Westwood after 54 holes, while Tiger Woods was just two off the pace along with Hunter Mahan, but nobody could keep pace with the left-handers astonishing birdie blitz in the final third of the round.
His caddie, Jim Mackay, called it "the best round of his career" and Mickelson, who had managed only two top-10 finishes in his previous 19 appearances, added: "I don't care how I got it, it just happened to be with one of the best rounds of my life. I always tried to go out and get it, and today I did."
