Phil Mickelson surely won't ever qualify as professional golf's G.O.A.T., but that doesn't mean he doesn't draw inspiration from one.
After becoming the oldest player to ever secure a major by winning the 103rd PGA Championship on Sunday, Mickelson, 50, talked about the motivation he's gleaned from one Tom Brady.
"So I'm very inspired by Tom Brady," Mickelson told ESPN following his improbable victory at Kiawah Island.
"He's actually a big motivation, because of how hard he works to be the best and to elongate his career."
Brady, 43, became the oldest player to win a Super Bowl earlier this year, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Kansas City Chiefs while earning his record fifth Super Bowl MVP trophy in his 21st season. But like many Sunday, he was also a big Mickelson fan.
Brady also posted on Instagram that Mickelson's victory was “inspiring for us all.”
Mickelson is now one of 14 golfers to win at least a half-dozen majors after capturing his first since 2013. He still needs a U.S. Open victory to complete the career Grand Slam, and the next one will be staged at Torrey Pines in San Diego, which is where Mickelson grew up.
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“(T)here’s no reason why at an older age you cannot be at your best," he said, admitting he'd had to work to regain his focus over a 72-hole event.
"It just takes a little more work. And I believed it for a long time, and I wasn’t getting the results – but I believed it, and I had people believe in me, and it just takes a little more work.”
It also sounded like Mickelson wouldn't mind putting in a little more work with TB12 after he and Brady lost last year's "The Match" – a charity event for COVID-19 relief – to Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning on the final hole, Mickelson saying "we have some unfinished business, he and I.”
He went on to add: “I want to get in another match with (Brady) because spending time with him, it’s inspiring. But it’s also, I learn a lot.”
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
