The famous golfer from San Diego, our reason for this fan website, is making his 100th appearance in a major PGA Championship this weekend. Along with him making his 100th appearance is South African Ernie Els. The two of them have been friends throughout their entire career competing against one another.
This is an elite club of golfers who have actually participated in 100 majors.
When Els took home his first major victory back in 1994, Curtis Strange, a two time U.S. Open championship winner, said that Els was the “next God.”
However, the media missed on this quote, and what he was trying to say was that Els would be “the next guy.” He has a very thick accent, apparently!
When Mickelson won the Masters at age 34, it was his first major tournament win. Ironically, this came to be a win over Els. On the final hole of competition, Mickelson made an 18 foot birdie putt for the win. When Els heard the roar of the crowd on the putting green, he retrieved his belongings and left.
The two legends even received a cake for this triumph.
Jack Nicklaus leads the way with 164 career starts in a major. After that, it’s Gary Player, Raymond Floyd, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Sam Snead, Tom Kite, Gene Sarazen, Nick Faldo, Mark O’Meara, and Bernhard Langer. This elite list is only 14 golfers deep, so you can tell what kind of company Lefty just joined.
Every golfer on that list is in the Hall of Fame, and rightfully so.
Good luck to Phil, we’ll be cheering for you this weekend!
