Phil Mickelson Wins PGA TOUR Champions Debut

Phil Mickelson captured his first PGA TOUR Champions victory in his first appearance on the over-50 circuit with a wire-to-wire win in the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National. He is the 20th player to win his debut event on the PGA TOUR Champions.

Mickelson followed up his opening round 61 with a 64 on Tuesday and closed with a 66 today to top Tim Petrovic by four strokes by finishing at 22-under.

“It’s really a fun week. I really enjoyed playing here, I enjoyed seeing all the guys again and I enjoyed the way they were so accommodating and fun. I really had a great time. It’s fun for me to compete. Like I’ve got to shoot scores and compete and it’s–the competition here is really strong and it was fun for me to get off to a good start and play well,” Mickelson said.

The World Golf Hall of Fame member is scheduled to tee it up again on the PGA TOUR in two weeks at the Safeway Open before playing in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

“To compete against these legends and to come out on top and to play well and get a little bit of momentum, I’ll go over to Napa and play our Safeway event the week before the U.S. Open and see if I can get sharp then,” Mickelson said. “But I’ll be working on my game the next week and a half, see if I can be really sharp for the U.S. Open. Obviously I have a lot of work to do and some redemption at Winged Foot, but it’s a great golf course and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Rocco Mediate finished tied for fifth with Steve Stricker at 14-under, eight shots behind Mickelson.

“Who was going to be good enough this week with that rat here? It’s so cool to have him out, actually helped me to play good because when you go out and play with Phil or play against Phil, you’ve got to have it.” Mediate said. “No, this isn’t surprising whatsoever, anything he does. Him and Tiger is the same thing, nothing they do surprises you and you’re seeing it here.”