Andrew Getson’s influence on Phil Mickelson was immediate but it took more than five years for the pair to create a slice of golf history that stunned the world.
“I believed I had the ability to do it, I knew I could and I’ve been very frustrated,” said Mickelson, who had started the week ranked 115th in the world and a 280/1 outsider.
“With the help of my wife Amy, my brother Tim and my coach Andrew Getson, I’ve been able to get back to playing golf at the highest level and it’s so fulfilling and rewarding and this is a moment I will cherish forever.
“This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible, but yet everything was saying it wasn’t. I hope that others find that inspiration.
At the start of the week, the odds on Phil Mickelson winning the PGA Championship were 280-1. That was probably generous considering the 50-year-old lefthander’s recent form.
In the last two seasons, he’d only managed two finishes inside the top 20. In the six major Strokes Gained categories used to measure performance against the field, Mickelson’s best was 122nd in putting. Most of his game was off and it didn’t seem as if it was coming back any time soon.
There was absolutely no indication that he was ready to beat the best players in golf on one of the hardest courses in the world, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. And yet at the end of the week, there he was with the Wanamaker Trophy raised high, a sixth major championship secured. Mickelson has authored some stunning performances during his lengthy career but none were ever as unexpected as this one.
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