Phil Mickelson proves age is no barrier with stunning US PGA Championship triumph at Kiawah Island

Done it: Phil Mickelson celebrates after the final round.

In any other sport, a 50-year-old is long retired – and generally spends much of that time playing golf.

But professional golf offers a career longevity like no other sport.

Never has that been more apparent than on the gusty shores of the Atlantic coast this last weekend, where Phil Mickelson one month shy of his 51st birthday, produced one of the most remarkable stories in the history of golf, and even his glorious career.

Thirty years after his first victory on the PGA Tour, Mickelson won the PGA Championship for a second time, to claim a sixth major in total and a first for eight years.

Trophy time: Phil Mickelson holds the Wanamaker Trophy.

Two years after Tiger Woods at the age of 43 hoisted himself off the operating table to win a fifth Masters title, old adversary Mickelson claimed arguably an even more improbable victory on the longest course in major championship history, and also one of its toughest.

Kiawah Island is a brute of a course, pockmarked by bunkers, sand dunes and water hazards and exposed to the gusting winds off the sea, it is up there among the ultimate tests in golf.

Yet it was mastered by a player who deserves to go down as one of the all-time greats. Mickelson’s place in golf history was already assured through his longevity and sheer amount of victories.