(Reuters) – After winning the PGA Championship on Sunday to become golf’s oldest major winner, 50-year-old Phil Mickelson said he had been inspired by the success of Tampa Bay Buccaners’ evergreen quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady, who won six Super Bowls in 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, left the franchise before signing a two-year, $50 million contract with the Bucs last year, starting all 20 games in 2020.
The 43-year-old quarterback played through most of the season with discomfort in his knee but managed to guide the Bucs to their second Super Bowl title in February.
“So I’m very inspired by Tom Brady,” Mickelson told ESPN.
“He’s actually a big motivation, because of how hard he works to be the best and to elongate his career.
“There’s no reason why at an older age you cannot be at your best,” added the six-times major winner.
“It just takes a little more work. I wasn’t getting the results — but I believed it, and I had people believe in me.”
Mickelson and seven-times Super bowl champion Brady teamed up for a charity golf match against Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in Florida last year that raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.
“I want to get in another match with (Brady) because spending time with him, it’s inspiring,” he added.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
