A numerical measure of a golfer’s ability, often used to level the playing field in competitions. A lower handicap indicates a better golfer.

Mickelson joined the PGA Tour in 1992. His first professional win came in 1993 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, where he had played golf matches in high school. Mickelson won at least one tournament in each of the following three years, and he finished the 1996 PGA season with his first top-10 world ranking (seventh). He rose to second in the rankings in 2001, finishing behind Tiger woods. The two golfers developed a rivalry that came to dominate the sport throughout the decade as the outgoing Mickelson and the more-reserved Woods divided golf fans with their disparate personalities and approaches to the game. Despite his great success on the Tour, Mickelson gained a reputation as the best player in the world to have never won a major tournament (the Masters, the U.S open, the British Open [Open Championship], or the PGA Championship), a distinction made more burdensome by his finishing second or third in six majors between 1999 and 2003.

A numerical measure of a golfer’s ability, often used to level the playing field in competitions. A lower handicap indicates a better golfer.

Mickelson joined the PGA Tour in 1992. His first professional win came in 1993 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, where he had played golf matches in high school. Mickelson won at least one tournament in each of the following three years, and he finished the 1996 PGA season with his first top-10 world ranking (seventh). He rose to second in the rankings in 2001, finishing behind Tiger woods. The two golfers developed a rivalry that came to dominate the sport throughout the decade as the outgoing Mickelson and the more-reserved Woods divided golf fans with their disparate personalities and approaches to the game. Despite his great success on the Tour, Mickelson gained a reputation as the best player in the world to have never won a major tournament (the Masters, the U.S open, the British Open [Open Championship], or the PGA Championship), a distinction made more burdensome by his finishing second or third in six majors between 1999 and 2003.

A hazard is an area of a golf course which provides a difficult obstacle for the golfer to negotiate. A course may include water hazards such as lakes and rivers, man-made hazards such as bunkers, and natural hazards such as trees or thick vegetation.