Next week’s Cologuard Classic will feature a Tucson golf legend.
Phil Mickelson has committed to play in the tournament, which starts Friday at Omni Tucson National Golf Resort. Joining Mickelson in committing were 2017 champion Tom Lehman and fan favorite Fred Couples.
Mickelson turned 50 in June, allowing him to play in PGA Tour Champions events. He has started — and won — two champions events since, the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National and the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in October. No golfer has ever won his first three starts on the champions tour.
Mickelson, an Arizona State product and owner of Oro Valley’s Stone Canyon Club, has always played well in Tucson. He competed in his first tournament here as an ASU freshman in 1989, and finished seventh in the UA’s Ping Invitational. He received a sponsor’s exemption to the Northern Telecom Open a year later, and finished 19th.
Mickelson returned to Tucson’s PGA Tour event two years later and won the tournament. He turned down $180,000 in prizes to maintain his amateur status.
Mickelson came as a pro in 1991, and won Tucson’s tournaments in both 1995 and 1996.
Phil Mickelson tees off on the 16th hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Tournament and Tucson Conquistadores officials were holding out hope that Mickelson would return for the Cologuard Classic. He last played in Tucson during Thanksgiving week, taking part in a made-for-TV event — “The Match: Champions for Change” — at Stone Canyon. He and former Phoenix Suns star Charles Barkley beat Golden State Warriors standout Steph Curry and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
Mickelson becomes the most recognizable face in a packed field of competitors that includes former Arizona Wildcats star Jim Furyk, another 50-year-old who’s also expected to challenge for the title.
There are more household names: Steve Stricker will make his fourth appearance at the Cologuard Classic, having won the event in 2018. Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez should be familiar faces to Tucson golf fans. They’ve both played in the old WGC-Accenture Match Play events at Dove Mountain. Jimenez has played in the last two Cologuard Classics, while Els made his Tucson PGA Tour Champions debut a year ago, finishing 34th
Stricker is one of six former Cologuard Classic champions in the field, joining Bernhard Langer (2020), Mark O’Meara (2019), Lehman (2017), Woody Austin (2016) and Marco Dawson (2015). There will be 10 World Golf Hall of Fame members at Tucson National: Couples, Els, Langer, O’Meara, Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Davis Love III, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh.
Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz received a sponsor’s exemption for the tournament. The other four exemptions are expected to be announced shortly.
The final four spots in the Cologuard Classic will be determined in Monday’s qualifier at Oro Valley Country Club.
