Phil Mickelson all the rage for the US Open after US PGA Championship heroics

Phil Mickelson was the 250-1 winner of the US PGA Championship on Sunday night, becoming the oldest Major champion in history, and his army of fans are dreaming about him completing a career Grand Slam in the US Open next month.

Mickelson was no shorter than 150-1 with any firm on US PGA-eve and could be backed at more than 500-1 on betting exchanges. After covering his first six holes of the event in three over par, he was matched at 999-1 on Betfair.

Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth, though, explained that the popularity of the veteran meant the outsider's success was far from a gift for the bookmaking community.

"Phil's still got a following," said Freeth. "Bundles of small each-way bets at fancy prices soon adds up - and punters didn't desert him in-play either. It was a great result for the golf romantics, but it was hardly a cracker for the bookies."

Mickelson fended off Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen to secure a two-shot triumph at the Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina. It was his second US PGA victory and his sixth Major, but the 50-year-old remains desperate for the missing piece of his Slam jigsaw - the US Open title.

The legendary left-hander has finished US Open runner-up six times. Ever since winning the 2013 Open at Muirfield, the US Open has been the final leg of a Lefty Slam, and he seems likely to become a well-backed outsider for the third Major of the year.

The US Open starts at Torrey Pines South, San Diego, California on June 17, so Mickelson will be teeing up in the city of his birth. The week before last, the San Diego-born superstar was handed a special exemption to play in the US Open, but his US PGA success means he has qualified by rights.

As Mickelson supporters clamoured to get on board for the US Open at fancy prices on Sunday night and Monday morning, he appeared to be settling in the market as a 50-1 chance. He has won the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines - currently called the Farmers Insurance Open - three times (1993, 2000, 2001).

Jon Rahm, who tied for eighth place in the US PGA on Sunday, is 12-1 US Open favourite. Dustin Johnson, who missed the US PGA cut, has drifted to 14-1 for Torrey Pines.

This week sees the Made In HimmerLand (Denmark) on the European Tour and the Charles Schwab Challenge (Texas) on the PGA Tour. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa are among the entrants for the Charles Schwab.

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