This week Phil Mickelson will reach another milestone in his long and storied career when the American celebrates 25 consecutive years inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
England’s Aaron Rai battled through a rain-soaked day to prevail over compatriot Matthew Fitzpatrick by signing for a one-under-par 69 to win the HONMA Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi by one-shot jumping to World No.122.
Mickelson reaches 25 years in World’s Top 50
This week Phil Mickelson will reach another milestone in his long and storied career when the American celebrates 25 consecutive years inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
The five-time Major winner is one of the most celebrated players in the modern era, having claimed 36 titles on the PGA Tour, three World Golf Championships victories and two further wins on the European Tour, a total of 46 victories.
Three of his five Major victories have come in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, in 2004, 2006 and 2010, while he also triumphed at the 87th US PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in 2005.
The 48-year old’s most recent Major triumph came in The 142nd Open Championship in 2013, at Muirfield Golf Links.
Mickelson’s 25 years – 1305 consecutive weeks - inside the world’s top 50 signifies his remarkable consistency, with 166 top ten finishes in the 647 OWGR Eligible Tournaments in which he has competed worldwide.
Having first entered the World Rankings in 1988, Mickelson broke into the top 50 on November 28, 1993, when a runner-up finish to Tom Lehman in the Japan Golf Tour’s Casio World Open elevated him to 47th position in the world.
Between 1996 and 2014, the Californian spent a total of 774 weeks inside the world’s top ten, while between 2001 and 2013 he spent a cumulative total of 269 weeks in second place – Tiger Woods having been number one in all of those weeks.
Asian and European Tour
England’s Aaron Rai battled through a rain-soaked day to prevail over compatriot Matthew Fitzpatrick by signing for a one-under-par 69 to win the HONMA Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi by one-shot jumping to World No.122.
The 23-year-old never actually surrendered the lead on Sunday but saw his six-shot overnight advantage cut to a single stroke by Fitzpatrick during a thrilling final-round battle in the pouring rain at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Five-time European Tour winner Fitzpatrick had fired seven birdies in his first 16 holes to pile the pressure on Rai but his challenge faltered when he carded his first bogey of the day at the 17th to give his compatriot a two-shot cushion with one hole remaining.
And despite carding a bogey at the last, Rai signed for a closing 69 to finish on 17 under par and open the 2019 Race to Dubai campaign with a stunning wire-to-wire victory in just his 46th European Tour appearance.
Fitzpatrick's sensational 64 saw him finish alone in second on 16 under, with Challenge Tour graduate Victor Perez and Australian Jason Scrivener five shots further back in a tie for third place.
Scot David Drysdale was on his own in fifth after Sunday's 66, while India's Shubhankar Sharma and Spanish pair Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello were another stroke back in a share of sixth.
Japan Golf Tour
Korean Hosung Choi won the Japan Golf Tour’s Casio World Open earning 16 points.
The victory takes Choi from World No. 351 to World No.209.
China Tour
Zhang Xinjun won the China Tour’s Chongqing Kingrun Open, his third tournament victory.
Zhang jumps from World No. 571 to World No.473
