Leaderboard: Round 1 of U.S. Open

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – A year ago, at the 102nd PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, Phil Mickelson didn’t contend but made his way to the CBS broadcast booth, where he traded zingers with Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz. He got off a few good lines. Everyone had fun. In between then and now, Mickelson won twice on PGA TOUR Champions; lost weight; sold some Coffee for Wellness; partnered with Tom Brady in The Match 2: Champions for Charity, when the world was desperate for live sports amid the paralyzing opening months of the pandemic. Always, he entertained, even if his golf game had cooled. Now, though, he has made history. Mickelson, 50, held his nerve, kept his focus, and counter-punched a brutally difficult Ocean Course to a draw Sunday, shooting a final-round 73 to win the PGA Championship. Louis Oosthuizen (73) and Brooks Koepka (74) finished second, two back at 4 under par. The biggest question mark by the 18th hole was whether Mickelson would be able to part the sea of people who closed in after his 9-iron approach stopped 16 feet from the pin, all but ending it. He two-putted for par and hugged his caddie/brother Tim as a euphoric Kiawah erupted. Mickelson becomes the oldest men’s major winner, besting Julius Boros, who was 48 at the 1968 PGA. It was the lefthander’s second PGA title (2005); sixth major (and first since the 2013 Open); and 45th PGA TOUR victory (first since the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am). Koepka took the lead after a two-shot swing at the first hole, but Mickelson took it right back with a birdie at the par-5 second, which Koepka double-bogeyed. It was that kind of day. Although he made three front-nine bogeys, Mickelson kept bouncing back with birdies, none bigger than his hole-out from the sand at the par-3 fifth hole as the pro-Phil crowd went wild. He birdied the par-5 seventh, and the par-4 10th hole. And after making nervous looking bogeys on 13 and 14, he hit a 366-yard drive and made another birdie at the downwind, par-5 16th hole. By then he had a three-shot lead, and it was all about avoiding the big mistake coming home. At 115th in the world, 168th in the FedExCup, he came into this week as a massive longshot. Still, there were early signs that something special was brewing, and it wasn’t coffee. Those who played practice rounds with him, like Steve Stricker and Jon Rahm, could see that he was playing great. Mickelson birdied the first three holes in a match that pitted him and fellow PGA TOUR Champions pro Stricker against Zach Johnson and Will Zalatoris. The old guys won. But playing well on Tuesday and Wednesday doesn’t always mean much. “His enthusiasm is what keeps him going,” said Rahm (68, 1 under), a friend who played for Tim Mickelson at Arizona State. “At his age, has the same enthusiasm I have at 26, and he’s been doing this a very long time. I mean, he’s been on TOUR as long as I’ve been alive.” The competition has kept him going, too. Padraig Harrington (69, 2 under), who believes older players do better under pressure, when their minds can’t drift, played with Mickelson the first two rounds at Kiawah and had a sense he might not fade on the weekend. “I’d say Phil is full to capacity, but that’s where he likes to live,” said Harrington, 49. Others could only shake their head in wonder. “I’ve just obviously watched him on TV growing up,” said 24-year-old lefty Robert MacIntyre (73, 5 over). “I mean, I’ve watched him do everything in golf. That’s the reason I pushed myself to get to where I am now was watching him. What he’s doing this week is incredible.” Older players had flirted with winning majors. Jack Nicklaus was 58 when he contended deep into Sunday at the 1998 Masters. Tom Watson was 59 when he nearly won the 2009 Open Championship. Fred Couples was 52 when he led after round two of the 2012 Masters. None of them won. With just two victories in the last seven years, Mickelson admitted his mental game wasn’t what it was. He has tried dietary changes, meditation, and marathon sessions of 36 to 45 holes a day. Now, though, it’s all clicking again for one of the most entertaining players of the last quarter century. Phil Mickelson, all 50 years of him, is a major champion again.

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Sam Burns … Three straight solid weeks in the restart has him positioned comfortably at 103rd in the FedExCup. The burst included 11 consecutive red numbers and ended with a T17 at the Workday Charity Open where he entered the final round sitting T4. As one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, he feasts on par 5s. Currently T20 in the stat. Fittingly, he co-led last year’s field on the trio of par 5s at TPC Twin Cities en route to a share of seventh place. Currently 29th overall in Strokes Gained: Putting as well. For a bump, his 24th birthday coincides with the opening round on Thursday. Ryan Armour … Debuting with a scoring average of 2.96, the par 3s at TPC Twin Cities were the third-easiest of 49 courses in all of 2018-19. It’s rarely a statistical advantage for any golfer, but he’s among the profiles that rush to mind for whom it can be. Sits T33 in par-3 scoring average thanks primarily to laser-like precision off the tee and a better-than-average blend of distance control and accuracy with his irons. During recent top 10s, he ranked T3 in par-3 scoring at the TPC River Highlands and led the field in par-3 scoring in Detroit. Kristoffer Ventura … With a pair of wins and two third-place finishes in just 11 starts in what was his rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, the Oklahoma State University product was poised for a seamless transition to the highest level of the sport. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way. In his first 12 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2019-20, he made just four cuts (two for top 20s) and sat 168th in the FedExCup. Suffice it to say that the time off has paid off as he’s finally landing punches as a terrific putter and dangerous scorer. Since the break, he’s a combined 4-for-4 with a T21 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a pair of top 10s on the KFT. Ben Martin … Slowed by a back injury early in 2019, he was choosy with his playing time on a medical extension to begin this season. He didn’t meet the terms, but the 32-year-old already had secured conditional status to trigger a handful of starts thereafter. This is just his second on the PGA TOUR post-hiatus, but he sandwiched a missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with top 10s on the Korn Ferry Tour. Currently 153rd in the FedExCup with three top 25s in just 10 starts. Seamus Power … While just 179th in the FedExCup and with only 26 rounds contributing this season, he presents as one of the most impressive on paper. Those analytics align beautifully with the requirement of this week’s test. The 33-year-old is 61st in greens in regulation, 13th in proximity to the hole, T8 in putts per GIR and eighth in converting his GIR into par breakers. He’s above average in length off the tee and slots T30 in par-5 scoring. In his last start on the PGA TOUR, he finished T12 in Detroit where he started the final round at T4. Sat out last year’s 3M Open in favor of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in his homeland. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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