PHOENIX — Phil Mickelson stood on the 18th green at Phoenix Country Club, a wide smile across his face as he held yet another PGA Tour Champions trophy.
Next to him was 64-year-old Bernhard Langer, grinning just as broadly as he hoisted the Charles Schwab Cup trophy at an age when most players are playing from the front tee boxes, not fighting for championships.
One ceremony, two champions with vastly different styles.
Mickelson birdied three of the final holes Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title.
“It’s so fun for us to come back and play in front of everyone and then to come out on top here was a special week,” said Mickelson, who played collegiately at nearby Arizona State. “I want to congratulate Bernhard because he really is the gold standard for work ethic, discipline, as well as talent and a great golf game. At 64, to win the season-long championship, that’s pretty impressive, pretty inspiring.”
For Mickelson, it’s always been about flash and creativity, pulling off shots few others would consider attempting. He did it through six major titles and 45 PGA Tour victories, and has kept it going on the senior circuit.
Mickelson was at his creative best at Phoenix Country Club, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 65 in the final round to join Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win four of his first six starts on the 50-and-over tour.
Lefty showed off his short-game skills to avoid bogeys and poured in six birdies in Sunday’s final round, the last an up-and-down from short of the par-5 18th to reach 19 under.
“It’s been fun for me to play out here and see so many guys that I grew up and spent decades with life-long friends,” Mickelson said. “Then to play well and have some success is very meaningful.”
Langer made a name for himself with precision and toughness through a stellar career, winning two Masters and 64 times internationally. The German star became unstoppable once he turned 50, winning 11 major championships and 42 more tournaments overall.
Langer needed lean on that toughness to get through four rounds at Phoenix Country Club. He nearly withdrew two holes into the tournament because of intense back pain and battled as the discomfort lessened slightly each day.
Langer shot under his age for the first time in the third round, a sterling bogey-free 63 with bookend eagles that moved him within six shots of Jim Furyk’s 16-under lead. He pulled within two shots with birdies on Nos. 1 and 4, then rolled in a 15-foot eagle putt on the 306-yard par-4 fifth to reach 14 under.
Langer struggled getting putts to fall the rest of the way, laboring through a 2-under 69 to finish at 12 under. He finished 17th, but was still in position to win the Schwab Cup after playing all 39 PGA Tour Champions events.
“I’m just overwhelmed, you know, at 64 to win this thing six times,” Langer said. “It will probably be my last one, I’m almost sure of that, but it’s very, very special.”
He had to wait a bit to get it.
Furyk needed an eagle on the 18th hole to finish in a tie for second, which would have been enough to overtake Langer. He pulled his second shot into the grandstand left of the 18th green and and had to drop in mulch. His next shot across the green into the rough and he got up and down for par. Furyk shot 71 to tie for fifth at 16 under.
Steven Alker shot 67 to finish second at 18 under. Darren Clarke had a 64 and David Toms a 65 to tie for third at 17 under.
PGA: Jason Kokrak made four straight birdies on the back nine and shot a 5-under 65 for a two-shot victory in the Houston Open.
Two shots behind with six holes to play, Kokrak overtook Scottie Scheffler and Martin Trainer and won for the third time in the last 13 months. He finished at 10-under 270.
Scheffler, going after his first PGA Tour victory, had a two-shot lead at the turn but then made three bogeys and finished with a 69 that left him tied for second with Kevin Tway (68).
Trainer took the lead on the 11th hole by rolling in a 70-foot birdie, but then bogeyed three of his last five holes for a 70.
LPGA: An epic duel between Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson turned into a stunning meltdown by both of them. Korda at least managed to recover and win a four-way playoff in the Pelican Women’s Championship at Belleair, Florida.
Korda won for the fourth time this year, despite falling out of the lead on the 17th hole when she chopped her way to a triple bogey that dropped her two shots behind. She answered with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 1-under 69 and got into a playoff when Thompson made a second straight bogey for a 69.
They were joined at 17-under 263 by defending champion Sei Young Kim (67) and Lydia Ko (66).
Korda ended it quickly with her second birdie on the 18th hole, this one from 12 feet.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Danish player Joachim B. Hansen carded a 4-under 68 to hold off Francesco Laporta and Bernd Wiesberger by one stroke to win the Dubai Championship.
Hansen, whose only other European Tour victory was at the Joburg Open in November 2020, finished at 23 under overall.
• Jon Rahm pulled out of the DP World Tour Championship despite having a chance to win the Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.
Rahm is third in the standings behind Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel but will not contest the European Tour’s season-ending event this week in Dubai.
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