Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have gone toe-to-toe on a number of occasions throughout their careers, but one column Mickelson is clear in is his hole-in-one tally
Phil Mickelson has disclosed that he has achieved an astonishing 47 hole-in-ones throughout his life, which is twice the number that his notable competitor Tiger Woods has achieved. In their heyday, Mickelson and Woods engaged in memorable golf matchups, but when it comes to achieving holes-in-one, it seems that Mickelson is clearly superior.
In recent years, the two golfers have taken different paths after Mickelson opted to join LIV Golf. “And prior to the upcoming breakaway league event in Las Vegas, Phil Mickelson, the captain of the HyFlyers team, participated in a question and answer session that was featured in the tournament’s media guide.”
Within the Q&A, the six-time major champion was quizzed on how many times he had holed out from the tee box, claiming the tally was a barely-believable 47. To put this into context, arguably golf’s greatest ever player in Woods has made 20 during his lifetime.
Of course all 47 have not come in competition, with the amount also including casual golf and practice. Nonetheless, Mickelson’s record is an impressive one, especially put in comparison to other greats. Whilst the HyFlyers skipper is yet to make an ace on the LIV setup, he made five during his time with the PGA Tour.
And two of them have come at some of golf’s most decorated events. As a fresh-faced 25-year-old, Mickelson holed out at the 1995 Players Championship, before repeating the feat on the major stage at the 2001 U.S. Open six years later at Southern Hills.
His other three came at the 1994 Kemper Open, the 1995 Houston Open, and most recently the 84 LUMBER Classic in 2005. The 53-year-old will no doubt be hoping for some similar magic in Vegas this week, after a season opener to forget in Mexico last weekend.
Mickelson began his campaign with a second-to-last place finish at LIV Mayakoba, ending the week with a score of 11-over-par. The only player he outperformed was Harold Varner III from the 4Aces team. It was also a challenging week for Mickelson’s team, the HyFlyers, as they finished in 10th place with a combined score of two-over-par for the week.
Despite his extensive background, the golfer who has won the PGA Tour 45 times has not been successful in the Saudi-supported tournament. His most notable achievement occurred during LIV’s inaugural season in 2022, where Mickelson secured eighth place in Chicago, trailing champion Cameron Smith by seven shots.