Nine days after accepting a special exemption for next month’s US Open, Phil Mickelson rendered it unnecessary in amazing fashion by becoming the oldest winner in major championship history.
Mickelson held his nerve during a pulsating final round at Kiawah Island to win his sixth major title in the 103rd US PGA Championship, 16 years on from lifting the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time.
The 50-year-old carded a closing 73 amid euphoric scenes around the 18th green, finishing six under par and two shots ahead of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen, with Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington, Paul Casey, and Harry Higgs two strokes further back.
A 280-1 outsider at the start of the week, Mickelson will celebrate his 51st birthday on June 16, the day before the US Open – which he needs to win to complete the career grand slam – gets under way at Torrey Pines.
Julius Boros had been the previous oldest major champion, claiming the US PGA title in 1968 at the age of 48.
The Irish pairing of Open champion Lowry and Ryder Cup captain Harrington had set the early clubhouse target, the good friends playing together and carding matching rounds of 69 to charge up the leaderboard and claim a share of fourth place.
Mickelson took a slender lead over Koepka into the final round but there was immediately a two-shot swing, Mickelson three-putting the first from long range and Koepka holing from 12 feet for birdie.
But that was eclipsed minutes later as Mickelson got up and down from over the third green for a birdie and Koepka missed the green with his approach, duffed his fourth shot from a sandy waste area and eventually two-putted for a double-bogey seven.
Another two-shot swing looked certain on the third after Mickelson made bogey with Koepka in close, but the former world number one surprisingly missed from two feet.
Mickelson rubbed salt into the wound on the par-three fifth, holing out from a bunker for birdie after Koepka had hit a superb tee shot to 25 feet, but Koepka responded with a tap-in birdie on the next as Mickelson failed to save par from right of the green.
The tie for the lead did not last long however, yet another two-shot swing coming on the par-five seventh thanks to a Mickelson birdie and clumsy Koepka bogey.
Pars from both players on the eighth and ninth came as something of a welcome chance to pause for breath, but the lull in action was short-lived.
Mickelson’s birdie on the 10th and a bogey from Koepka was the fifth multiple-shot swing between the final pair and gave Mickelson a four-shot lead with eight holes to play.