"Don't know how I dodged the bullet" – When Phil Mickelson was left in disbelief after a thrilling playoff victory

Phil Mickelson was left in disbelief after a thrilling playoff victory at the 2005 BellSouth Classic. He won the tournament just before the Masters tournament by sinking a birdie on the fourth playoff hole amid rain-affected weather conditions.

The tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather conditions and Mickelson fired 74 in the first round with one birdie on the front nine and two birdies on the back nine. He shot 65 in the second round with three birdies on the front nine and three birdies along with an eagle on the back nine. In the last round, the golfer scored 69 by shooting three birdies on the front nine and four on the back nine.

Mickelson's total score stood at 8 under 208 and he tied with Jose Maria Olazabal, Rich Beem, Brandt Jobe, and Arjun Atwal. Olazabal would have won the event if he didn't miss the birdies on the 18th hole. Mickelson later disclosed after winning that six to 10 golfers had the potential to win the tournament but he got lucky. His words were:

“I don't know how I dodged the bullet but I'm looking forward to the Masters. (via BBC)”

Following the BellSouth Classic, the Masters Tournament took place and Tiger Woods won the title, while Mickelson finished in a T10 place with a score of 3 under 285.

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Phil Mickelson described his feelings after winning the 2005 BellSouth Classic

Phil Mickelson shared how fortunate he felt after winning the tournament. He also shared that apart from the golfers who went to the BellSouth Classic playoff with him, there were four to five more guys who could have won. But none did and he was the last guy standing at the top of the leaderboard. He said ( via ASAP Sports):

“It is a great feeling. I'm very fortunate, Joanie, to have won this tournament. There was not just the five guys that were in the playoff, but there were another four or five guys that could have and should have won this tournament outright…To be able to be the last guy standing, it feels great. Especially after a long, difficult week, to be able to hold the trophy feels terrific. It gives me some momentum.”

“Especially the way I played the Back 9, without having what looked like even a chance to get in the playoff, to shoot what I did to get in the playoff and win gives me some momentum for next week…Well, it is very nerve-wracking and you feel the butterflies when you're in a sudden death playoff.”

Mickelson switched to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour in 2022 and since then, he has only appeared at the PGA Tour majors and regularly played in the LIV Golf events.