Phil Mickelson is writing another feat at Augusta at the age of 52

At 52 years old, with six Grand Slam tournaments under his belt and a good collection of stories to tell his grandchildren one day, Phil Mickelson hasn’t said everything at the Masters, far from it. The phenomenal player from San Diego is old enough to play tournaments on the veteran calendar, the Champions Tour, but instead made the controversial decision to become one of the flagships of LIV Golf, a course in the Saudi capital. Unlike other players competing in a calendar that has shaken the foundations of golf, Mickelson has shown that he retains all his class. As a result, he finished tied for second at the Masters, with a -8 total, the same strokes gained as Brooks Koepka, and only one player behind Jon Rahm (-12).

Mickelson first entered Magnolia Lane, the road leading to Augusta National, as a beardless amateur from Arizona State University in the spring of 1991. He finished tied for 46th after making the cut and, more importantly, winning the silver trophy for the best fan.

Since then, Mickelson has played in the Masters 31 times and has finished in the top ten 16 times. Known for years as the greatest player without a Grand Slam, one of the tolls he had to pay coincided with Tiger Woods’ years of tyranny, he buried that kind of curse at Augusta in 2004, taking the first of his three green jackets.

On Sunday, he played like never before, like always, with eight birdies, five of them in the last seven holes. Another demo class, but not the last.