It was borderline unfair, the way Phil Mickelson walloped the entire field in his Champions Tour debut. Mickelson dusted everything in his wake at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozark National, posting scores of 61-64-66 to finish four strokes clear of the field for an easy wire-to-wire win.
Mickelson turned 50 over the summer, making him eligible to join the tour circuit, and he did what 20 others coming straight from the PGA Tour have done: won right out of the gate. It wasn’t exactly a huge shock, but it was still impressive and, hell, inspirational.
The PGA Tour Champions — a less ageist name than its former moniker, the Senior Tour — holds the distinction of being the only sports league where the rookies are always the favorites.