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Adam Long stares down Phil Mickelson to claim Desert Classic victory

By Brandon Raper

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: Adam Long of the United States plays a shot off the 3rd tee during the final round of the Desert Classic at the Stadium Course on January 20, 2019 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: Adam Long of the United States plays a shot off the 3rd tee during the final round of the Desert Classic at the Stadium Course on January 20, 2019 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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Adam Long pulled off a feat even he had to think was unlikely heading into Sunday at the Desert Classic. He stared down Phil Mickelson (and Adam Hadwin) to bring home the first PGA TOUR victory of his career at PGA West.

Adam Long isn’t exactly what you would call a household name on the PGA TOUR. The ninth-year pro just earned his first Tour card back in August at the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic. You probably remember that event far better for Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry shooting 71-86, by far the highest profile entrant in the tournament finishing +17 to miss the cut.

Safe to say, though, that that week was by far the biggest in Long’s golfing career. That is, until Sunday at the Desert Classic, when he went from “Adam Long: PGA TOUR member” to “Adam Long: PGA TOUR winner”.

It’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Long was magnificent in the tournament finale, making four birdies in the final seven holes to catch up to a struggling Phil Mickelson, and holding off a strong-but-not-strong-enough Adam Hadwin and a hard-charging Talor Gooch. The dagger came on No. 18, as the final threesome of Long, Mickelson and Hadwin all had a chance to claim victory.

All three players hit strong tee shots on the closing par-4, with Long finding himself on an uneven lie in the first cut of rough. The first one to make their approach, Long stuck his approach about 14 feet shy of the hole, putting pressure on his playing partners to give themselves a chance. Mickelson left his approach nearly 40 feet short, and Hadwin air-mailed the green, finding the back side bunker.

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Advantage: Long.

Of course, as the old Tour marketing slogan goes, these guys are good. Hadwin gave a valiant attempt on his bunker shot, but couldn’t find the hole. Mickelson – who couldn’t buy a putt outside five feet pretty much all day and blew a wire to wire lead – almost ran his 40-footer in, but the 54-hole-leader could do nothing but watch as his birdie attempt skirted inches away.

It’s tough to say what would have been less pressure, a putt to force a playoff with an icon like Phil Mickelson, or a knee-knocking 14-footer for a walk-off win. Regardless, Long was on center stage with his entire golfing future resting on one putt. Only the Stadium Course is wired for ShotLink, but this was entirely in his favor, as Long ranked ninth in strokes gained putting for his two rounds there.

And he absolutely buried it, leaving no doubt.

Long snapping up that Twitter handle was an outstanding move, and its a safe bet that he’ll have quite a few more followers in the days and weeks to come (he’s more than doubled from about 700 followers to nearly 1500 in the time I’ve been writing this). A true journeyman, the 31-year-old Long has gone from Duke University to the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, the Canadian MacKenzie Tour, and the Web.com to make his way here.

Nearly ten years without membership on either the PGA TOUR or European Tour is a tough row to hoe, but his determination has paid off in magnificent fashion.

Long’s win is worth $1.062 million – nearly twice his career Web.com Tour earnings ($551,643) over five seasons. It will also essentially guarantee him membership for the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR season, as well as earning him coveted invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Championship, and of course, the Masters Tournament.

"“In some ways it’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster, but it’s been a steady improvement throughout my career,” Long said. ” I’ve played in pretty much most tours around the world that there are and just kind of steadily progressed. It kind of can seem like it came out of nowhere, but my game’s been trending in the right direction for really the last two years now.”"

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They say that good things come to those who wait. While it wouldn’t necessarily be fair to call what Long has done in his career “waiting”, it’s safe to say that this is a moment that he will remember for the rest of his life, regardless of what his golfing future holds. Let’s celebrate this moment, and remember that this is as much of what makes golf great as anything else you’ll see all year.

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