Where does Mickelson stand among the greats

[Kevin Pallier]

Where does Mickelson now stand in comparison to his peers with his 6th Major?

[John McCarthy]

A step behind the true greats - Nicklaus, Woods, Hogan, Palmer.  But this win today, at age 50, at Kiawah, with the most intimidating player today in the same grouping - that was some golf.  A tournament for the ages, no doubt.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I just don't know how you can rank players. How do you count Vardon, JH Taylor, old and young Tom, Sarazen etc? Anyway you look at it though, he is in the upper echelon. I think he was there before today, though. 45 TOUR wins is stout.

[John McCarthy]

Sam Snead is in there too.  My list with little forethought.  But he shared an era with Woods and Woods won more.  So, a step behind.  But we'll ahead of 99% of every professional golfer. 


On edit: When all is said and done and Phil is at the Pearly Gates and St. Peter asks "How did you play?" Phil will have a really good answer.

[Kalen Braley]

I think he belongs near the top.

When you consider results in majors between Phil and Tiger, they are nearly identical except in Wins.  They both played against the same deep fields, but Phil had the bad luck of playing in Tiger era, as he was an exceptional finisher. Overall I put him right up there with the best of the best.

Majors     Tiger   Phil
Top 3s      26       24
Top 5s      33       28
Top 10s    41       39

[JESII]

Certainly top 15 but amazingly, he never attained the #1 Ranking in the world nor did he ever finish #1 on the PGA Tour Monet list. Pretty shocking stats in my opinion, as a guy who’s been paying close attention since his amateur days.


Flat out stud but could you put him ahead of Watson? Trevino?

[Steve Lang]

    He's right there in the picture, back row, smiling with thumb up...  but let's see if he can win the US Open or US Sr Open

[Scott Warren]

Certainly top 15 but amazingly, he never attained the #1 Ranking in the world nor did he ever finish #1 on the PGA Tour Monet list.

Which active player owns more Monets than Phil?

[Kalen Braley]

Jim,

I'm not sure how well of a measure the World Golf ranking is.  Norman is #2 all time for number of weeks spent as World #1, but with only 2 majors he never gets mentioned among the elites.  And he had nowhere near the number of high finishes Tiger and Phil have had.

[Mark Mammel]

Let's not forget Tom Watson, playing against Nicklaus, Seve, Trevino, Crenshaw- the list goes on. 39 tour wins, 8 majors with 5 (and painfully close to 6) Opens. PGA money list leader 5 times. No PGA, alas, but still one of the best.

[JESII]

Certainly top 15 but amazingly, he never attained the #1 Ranking in the world nor did he ever finish #1 on the PGA Tour Monet list.

Which active player owns more Monets than Phil?

Monets?


As in great art?


Weird question.  I started with Top 15 all time. No current player is Top 15 All Time yet.


His Open Championship was great. Remember anything interesting about his 4 other Majors?




Kalen,


Is it really possible that an all time top 15 was never considered the best player in the world at their time?

[cary lichtenstein]

Even with arnie in popularity

[Ronald Montesano]

Jim, check you spelling of MONEY in the your first post.


I put Phil with Tom and Gary Player. They were second best to greatness.


I think that it's harder to separate Hogan, Snead, and Nelson.


Tiger better than Phil, but Phil still great.


Jack better than Tom, but Tom still great.


Jack better than Gary, but Gary still great.




Use Bobby Jones as a dividing line (say, Grand Slam in 1930.)


Best 10 1930 and before:

Best 10 1931 and after:


Place your bets.

[Peter Pallotta]

It was fascinating to watch, in part because it suggests yet again that no golfer is intimidating to a veteran who's long past being intimidated. [Hal Sutton is not in Phil's league, but even Tiger Woods at his best couldn't manage to intimidate him.]

I'm an unmitigated fan of Phil's -- he's always fun watch and has been a pleasure to listen to always, even at his most half-baked. Today's performance proves him to be one of the true greats.

But I think he 'slots in' behind Player, ahead of Faldo, and somehow just a titch above Trevino and a titch below Watson; to me, the lack of a US Open is a factor, but 45 wins is too.

[Kevin Pallier]

For mine - he has now cracked the Top15 all-time. To win a Major at 50 - nearly 51 is an amazing achievement.


If he'd only won a US Open - I reckon he'd be considered Top10.

[Mike_Clayton]

For mine - he has now cracked the Top15 all-time. To win a Major at 50 - nearly 51 is an amazing achievement.


If he'd only won a US Open - I reckon he'd be considered Top10.

It's way harder to finish 2nd 6 times than win it once.


Not sure what that says though.

[Sean_A]

For mine - he has now cracked the Top15 all-time. To win a Major at 50 - nearly 51 is an amazing achievement.

If he'd only won a US Open - I reckon he'd be considered Top10.

It's way harder to finish 2nd 6 times than win it once.

Not sure what that says though.

It may be harder to place 2nd a handful of times, but to win it once is much more meaningful.

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

For mine - he has now cracked the Top15 all-time. To win a Major at 50 - nearly 51 is an amazing achievement.
If he'd only won a US Open - I reckon he'd be considered Top10.

It's way harder to finish 2nd 6 times than win it once.
Not sure what that says though.

Interesting thought when you consider how many players have won 1 major but never contended in any others. And then you get someone like Louis Oo’ with 1 win and a whole bunch of second places.
Also worth considering is how many times Jack Nicklaus finished 2nd in majors in comparison to many of the games other considered greats.
And here’s a question the media will likely soon start to ask ..... will Brooks K ever win a 5th major?
Atb


PS - hope this link works - Phil M from age 20 to age 50 swing sequence - ie from persimmon and a balata ball to titanium/graphite/composite and a multi-piece ball - https://twitter.com/i/status/1396492365817319430

[David_Elvins]

Winning his third full field major definitely puts him ahead of Norman now.

[Tim Martin]

Winning his third full field major definitely puts him ahead of Norman now.

He was ahead of Norman regardless of the PGA win. Despite Norman locking down the number one ranking for so long it only translated into two majors.

[JESII]

Jim, check you spelling of MONEY in the your first post.

Thank you!

[Jeff Schley]

I think his longevity is a testament to his fire and desire, to not only compete but win a major again at 50 is historic. Hasn't been done before, despite Watson and Norman getting close in their 50's at The Open. You can't fake 45 wins and 6 majors with these fields. He deserves all the accolades he gets.


The actual number he ranks I don't think is as important as being in the conversation. One thing he definitely is, which is the best left handed golfer of all time.


BTW I'd be curious what his swing speed has been throughout his career, for he hit 177 on his driver yesterday which is ripping it.

[JLahrman]

And here’s a question the media will likely soon start to ask ..... will Brooks K ever win a 5th major?

Well when you win 4 in the space of 2 calendar years I guess it's a fair question to ask, but Koepka is still a couple of years younger than Mickelson was when he won his first major. You never know though, after 2014 not many people would have predicted that McIlroy would still be at four majors in 2021.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I think his longevity is a testament to his fire and desire, to not only compete but win a major again at 50 is historic. Hasn't been done before, despite Watson and Norman getting close in their 50's at The Open. You can't fake 45 wins and 6 majors with these fields. He deserves all the accolades he gets.


The actual number he ranks I don't think is as important as being in the conversation. One thing he definitely is, which is the best left handed golfer of all time.


BTW I'd be curious what his swing speed has been throughout his career, for he hit 177 on his driver yesterday which is ripping it.

My two thoughts exactly are bolded in red.  OT, but I did have a conversation with Trevino once, and his historical ranking was quite important to him, even if he ended his musing by saying it was most important to be in the conversation.  From memory, he placed himself 6th or 7th, I think discounting more earlier players above him in majors won, on the basis of less competition.


Since he has tied Lee, I guess he would now be at least top 12, based on major wins, maybe inside the top 10 if you subscribe to the "lesser competition" theory about Jones, Hagen, Vardon, Sarazen, etc.


I think those kinds of discussions are ultimately unresolvable, however, taking us back to the "in the conversation is good enough" viewpoint.

[BHoover]

And here’s a question the media will likely soon start to ask ..... will Brooks K ever win a 5th major?

Well when you win 4 in the space of 2 calendar years I guess it's a fair question to ask, but Koepka is still a couple of years younger than Mickelson was when he won his first major. You never know though, after 2014 not many people would have predicted that McIlroy would still be at four majors in 2021.

How many people thought that Tom Watson would win his last major in 1983 at age 33. Same with Arnold Palmer winning his last major in 1964 at the same age.