Phil Mickelson's latest PGA Tour Champions win is the most wildly entertaining of them all

All’s well that ends well for Phil Mickelson. In his fourth career PGA Tour Champions start, the 51-year-old Hall of Famer won for the third time, taking the inaugural Constellation Furyk & Friends title by two shots over Miguel Angel Jimenez after shooting a closing four-under 68 at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla.

And yet, win No. 3 on the 50-and-older circuit was no doubt more nerve-wracking than Lefty expected. Despite birdieing his first three holes on Sunday to grow his overnight two-shot advantage to three, a lost ball off the tee on the par-4 fifth hole resulted in a double-bogey 6 and foreshadowed a harrowing few hours to come.

Indeed, Mickelson’s penchant for making things “exciting” with his driver resulted in an interesting afternoon as he scrambled to find fairways (he hit just five on the day), save pars and fend off Jimenez.

The “entertainment” also included a wayward drive into the left pine straw on the par-4 16th hole. Mickelson proceeded to move away pine cones and twigs from around his ball. Moments later, standing beside his ball, it moved. Mickelson called in a rules official and after they conferred it was determined Phil did not cause the ball to move. He punched out his second shot in front of the green, then chipped his third to 18 inches before making the par putt.

When Mickelson does play with the seniors, he has proven exceptionally hard to beat. His length certainly helps; despite ranking 81st in driving accuracy this week (21 of 42 fairways), he finished first in distance (301.8 yards). In 12 career rounds now, Mickelson has held the lead at the end of the day seven times. He’s stroke average is 67.16, with all but one round under par.