The best golfer from every U.S. state

Arizona: Phil Mickelson

There are plenty of players, especially in the modern era of golf, who could qualify to be the best from Arizona. Players such as Annika Soresntam, Cristie Kerr, Jim Furyk and Billy Mayfair all have claims to be from the state, and all have decorated golf careers that deserve recognition.

With that being said, Phil Mickelson may have been born in San Diego, CA, but he attended Arizona State and was an ace for the Sun Devils in his college career, winning three NCAA Championships throughout his career there and also capturing the U.S. Amateur title in 1990. That was all before he turned pro and joined the PGA Tour, however, and he only continued to rack up wins after that.

Mickelson, who is still playing at a high level today at 47 years old on the PGA Tour, has 43 wins to his credit on the tour. That’s currently tied for the ninth-most all time, which truly speaks to how phenomenal he’s been throughout his career. Even more impressive is the span of his success, landing his first PGA Tour victory as an amateur in 1991 and having won most recently at the WGC-Mexico Championship in March 2018. The latter actually ended a near-five-year winless streak for Mickelson.

Early in his career, Lefty struggled to shed the label that he couldn’t get it done in major championships, but he finally broke through by winning The Masters in 2004. He’s won at Augusta two more times since (2006, 2010) and also captured the 2005 PGA Championship and 2013 British Open title. Meanwhile, he’s finished second or tied for second on six separate occasions. That’s more than enough to make him Arizona’s best, and also one of the best ever, period.