Phil Mickelson has played pretty much every golf course worth playing on the planet during his time in the professional game.
Mickelson is one of the most highly decorated golfers in the history of the game, with six major championships and 45 PGA Tour titles to his name.
The course where he has had much of his success, certainly in the majors, is Augusta National, where he won three Masters titles.
Mickelson has previously said that he ‘loves everything about Augusta National’, so it’s no surprise that he has enjoyed so much success there.
However, Augusta didn’t feature in the top two hardest golf courses he’s ever played.
Mickelson is part of LIV Golf now, and he has plenty of years left ahead of him at the highest level. The fact that he can still compete with the best golfers in the world is truly remarkable given his age.
He has always performed well at difficult golf courses. His major wins at Muirfield at The Open Championship in 2013 and at Kiawah Island at the 2021 PGA Championship are proof of that.
Phil Mickelson picks the hardest courses he has played and makes claim about Augusta
Mickelson has competed at the very highest level for 34 years, since he won his first PGA Tour title as an amateur way back in 1991.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
So it’s fair to say that he has seen all there is to see in the game.
Mickelson was asked to name the toughest golf courses he has ever played. And whilst he name-checked Augusta, there are two standout courses in the six-time major champion’s eyes when it comes to difficulty.
He said: “The hardest is Oakmont, not just because they have the US Open there, I mean day in day out it’s the hardest. I think second hardest is Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines, under the same conditions, it’s 7,600 yards at sea level, I think that golf course is brutally difficult. I think Augusta National is one of the top five hardest golf courses. Without rough, it’s playable, but because it’s so long and the greens are so severe, that if you had the same conditions of any other course, Augusta is one of the five hardest courses in the world.
Augusta is a hugely surprising selection from Mickelson because, despite the severity of the greens, there are many scoreable holes there.
However, Oakmont and Torrey Pines were two more predictable selections.
How has Phil Mickelson performed at Oakmont and Torrey Pines
Mickelson has had huge success at Torrey Pines, but the same can’t be said for his performances at Oakmont.
Here is how his record looks at both golf courses throughout the years:
Tiger Woods is the only player to have a more dominant record than Mickelson at Torrey Pines.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to note that the 55-year-old named the William P. Bell-design as the second hardest golf course he has ever played.