KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Phil Mickelson’s historic final round at the PGA Championship was even more challenging than one would imagine.
Mickelson explained that following his two-stroke victory at Kiawah Island, his 2-wood, which he’d used with regularity all week, produced “a couple of squirrelly shots,” at Nos. 12 and 13. On Saturday and he discovered he’d cracked the clubface. Luckily, he had a replacement 2-wood.
But Lefty’s equipment woes weren’t over. As he was warming up for the final round on Sunday he noticed his 2-iron also had a cracked face.
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“I mean, just you can’t swing it as hard as I hit it and not expect them to crack,” Mickelson laughed. “I’m kidding.”
Mickelson replaced the 2-iron with a 4-wood that he hadn’t practiced with since Tuesday. However, he felt comfortable hitting it on certain holes, including Nos. 3 and 4 during the final round.
“It happens. In fact, if it doesn’t happen, you start to question the manufacturer, hey, aren’t we making this as hot as we can,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that happens and you just have to be prepared for it, which is why I bring backup clubs out here.”
Both clubs contributed to Mickelson’s victory, which made him the oldest player to win a major championship at 50 years old. He finished the week first in strokes gained: tee to green and 12th in greens in regulation.