Phil Mickelson, who has not played anywhere since February, opts not to defend his title
Tiger Woods, right, and Phil Mickelson have entered the PGA Championship. Picture: CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES
The PGA Championship, which begins on Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had all the makings of one of those special sporting occasions when old rivals collide. But Mickelson, who became golf’s oldest Major winner in 2021 when he won the PGA Championship just shy of his 51st birthday, said on Friday he would not play, becoming just the third PGA champion not to defend his title after Woods in 2008 and Ben Hogan in 1949, both of whom bowed out due to injury.
While Woods always plays to win, few expect him to add to his tally of 15 Majors this week. He worked the golf world into a frenzy at the Masters when he carded a one-under par 71 in his first round of competitive golf since his horror car crash. If the 28-year-old can triumph at the PGA Championship, where his best result was runner-up in 2015, he would join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods in golf’s elite club of Grand Slam winners.
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