How Many Holes-in-One Has Phil Mickelson Made?

Phil Mickelson is one of the all-time great golfers, and he's played (and practiced) a lot of golf in his lifetime. So you would probably guess that Mickelson has made a few holes-in-one over his life in golf. But how many? So many that he might just hold the record for tour pros.

Mickelson claims 47 career aces. Forty-seven! For comparison's sake, Arnold Palmer claimed 20 aces, and Jack Nicklaus' number is 21. As this is written, Tiger Woods stands on 20. And those are high numbers — most of the PGA Tour guys (and LPGA gals and other tour pros) have made many fewer.

We'll tell you why Mickelson's 47 might just be an all-time record in a moment. But first, let's list the holes-in-one Mickelson has made on tour.

Phil Mickelson's Aces on Tour

Mickelson has five career holes-in-one during competition in PGA Tour events, plus one on the European Tour:

PGA Tour

• 1994 Kemper Open
• 1995 Houston Open
• 1995 The Players Championship
• 2001 U.S. Open Championship
• 2005 84 Lumber Classic

European Tour

• 2008 Scottish Open

Mickelson's first hole-in-one on tour happened in the 1994 Kemper Open. It came in the second round on the 11th hole, and Mickelson used a 6-iron from 177 yards. Mickelson was in his third full season as a PGA Tour member and had four official victories at that point.

His most-impressive ones were the aces in the 1995 Players Championship (second round, 13th hole) and, his one hole-in-one in a major, in the 2001 U.S. Open (second round, sixth hole at Southern Hills Country Club).

We also have a record of Mickelson making a hole-in-one at Augusta National Golf Club. It happened on the 16th hole (8-iron, 170 yards) during a practice round prior to the 2007 Masters.

Are Mickelson's 47 Career Aces the All-Time Record?

If Mickelson's count of 47 career aces is accurate, then, yes, he holds an all-time record: most career holes-in-one made by a tour professional. For decades, going back to the 1970s, the record-holder in this stat was believed to be Art Wall Jr. (like Mickelson a Masters champ), who claimed 45 career aces.

The odd thing about Mickelson's claim of 47 aces is that it only came out in 2024. As far as we can tell, Mickelson had, before that, never given a count of his holes-in-one. (There is no chance he wasn't aware of Wall's number.) We've never even seen a story about when and where his very first ace happened, or how old he was at the time.

We know Mickelson had "only" five aces on the PGA Tour, but that is actually a fair number for a tour player in official play (only two of Palmer's 20 holes-in-one happened in PGA Tour events, for example). The record for most aces by a golfer in PGA Tour tournament play is 10, shared by Hal Sutton and Robert Allenby. We know he also aced on the European Tour and at Augusta National.

Where are the rest of those 47 holes-in-one? They are spread throughout his career, happening mostly out-of-sight of media and spectators, likely starting when he was a junior golfer. (Wall made at least 12 of his 45 aces at ages 14-15).

Mickelson has struck millions of golf shots over his life. All those other holes-in-ones happened during practice rounds, friendly rounds, pro-ams, corporate outings and clinics (at least one of these is viewable on YouTube), practice sessions on the course where he was playing four balls per hole, and on and on. We don't know for sure the nature of each, individual hole-in-one, and if we did perhaps we might say of one or more, "not sure that one should count" — for example, there is video of Mickelson making an ace on broadcaster Jim Nantz's backyard par-3 hole:

Until Lefty decides to share more details, or at least more details as best as he call recall, then we are only left with those aces that happened on tour and Mickelson's assertion of 47 career holes-in-one.

Related articles:

• How many holes-in-one did Ben Hogan make?
• The tour player who aced consecutive holes — including a par-4
• Aces on the island green during The Players Championship

Sources:
Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. "Perry Makes His Move at Deere," Associated Press, July 12, 2008.
The Idaho Statesman. "Player set for 50th Masters appearance," Mickelson Menu, April 3, 2007.
PGA Tour. The 2020-21 PGA Tour Media Guide, All-Time Records, Holes-in-One by Player.
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette. "Morning Briefing," Golf, June 4, 1994.
Porter, Kyle. "Phil Mickelson claims to have made 47 holes in one across his career, but is that many aces even possible?" CBSSports.com, February 8, 2024.
Tarde, Jerry. "Phil Mickelson made 47 holes-in-one, and I believe him," GolfDigest.com, June 4, 2024.