They are inevitable, these comparisons to a young Jack Nicklaus.
Is that fair? Perhaps not. But Phil Mickelson keeps inviting them with his play.The 23-year-old left-hander ran away with the International on Sunday, becoming the youngest player since Nicklaus to win three PGA Tour events.
Mickelson recorded nine birdies and two bogeys - worth 16 points under the modified Stableford scoring system used in this unique event - and finished with a tournament-record 45 points. That was eight points better than runner-up Mark Calcavecchia's 37 points. Phil Blackmar was third at 33.
Mickelson, who won the Northern Telecom Open in 1991 while still an amateur at Arizona State, earned his second victory of the season. He also won the Buick Invitational of California in February. With a first-place check of $234,000 on Sunday, he boosted his season's earnings to $542,765 and moved into 13th place on the money list.
"He's got a huge amount of talent," Calcavecchia said of Mickelson. "With his game, he can be very, very explosive. I'll give him credit for one thing: When he gets a chance to win, he knows how to do it. He's not afraid of anybody. He's a great player."
Scott Simpson, who tied with Greg Norman for fourth place, said, "He has the potential to win lots of majors and tournaments."
Added Rocco Mediate, who placed ninth, "He'll be showing the world how good he is the next 20 years."
Mickelson seems embarrassed by all the accolades.
"It's a great compliment to be compared to Jack Nicklaus, but there is never going to be another Jack Nicklaus," Mickelson said. "He's the greatest player of all time, and I don't think there will ever be another player of that caliber."
Mickelson said he learned about course management while playing with Nicklaus in last week's PGA Championship. Coupled with increased patience and Mickelson's ability to overcome a case of burnout earlier this year, he was primed for another win.
It came Sunday, with relative ease.
He didn't even need to play the last two holes. He could have picked up and taken the maximum penalty - minus-3 points for a double bogey - and still won.
"He can go X, X and still win, can't he?" Calcavecchia observed correctly from the media interview room while Mickelson was playing the 17th hole.
Mickelson, of course, played the last two holes, parring both.
In Kenmore, Wash., Franklin Quest winner Dave Stockton, an 11-time winner on the regular PGA, won his fourth Senior Tour title of the year with a 16-under-par 200 Sunday at the $500,000 GTE Northwest Classic.
Stockton, in his second full year on the Senior Tour, now has five career Senior victories and two in a row. He has played 13 of his last 14 rounds under par and six straight in the 60's.
He closed with a 5-under-par 67 to beat Dale Douglass by four strokes. Douglass fired a final-round 70. Bob Betley finished fourth, at 10-under.
"If I keep playing this good, they're going to have to write some new chapters," Stockton said of the PGA. "I have enough pride in myself that I think I'm approaching the level I want to be at."
Stockton earned $75,000 for his victory at the 6,455-yard Inglewood course. He leads the Senior Tour with $700,699 in 1993. He never earned more than $156,000 in any of 27 years on the PGA Tour.
In Brooklyn Park, Minn., Hiromi Kobayashi of Japan tied the tournament record with a 7-under-par 65 then made a 3-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to beat Cindy Rarick in the Minnesota LPGA Classic on Sunday.