Nearing his 51st birthday and already with two Champions Tour titles to his name, Mickelson broke the age barrier of Major championship golf with his two-stroke win at Kiawah Island, becoming the oldest winner of a Major in the game’s history.

There is an abundance of Major champions this week at Southern Hills Country Club but rather than chasing former glories, in many cases they are continuations of glorious professional careers.

Pampling was 47 years of age when, like Mickelson, he beat Brooks Koepka by two shots at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November 2016 and has no doubt that Mickelson’s feat will inspire others to extend their careers on the main tour.

“It should definitely give guys a kick in the pants to show that you can still win out there at any age,” Pampling said of the over-50s continuing to win on the PGA TOUR.

“That’s the beauty of this game. It really is endless as to when you can win as long as your body can stand up to the four days.

“It just shows that in this game anything can happen.

“I was fortunate enough at 47 to sneak one in at Vegas.

“With golf, it really is up to the person, up to the individual. It still takes the right golf course, depending on how far you hit it.

“The guys still play incredible golf out here on the Champions Tour. They hit it just as good; it’s just maybe 20-30 yards behind what the young guys do. But the rest is still there.”

Pampling played a practice round on Tuesday with good friend and playing partner for the opening two rounds John Senden – “We’re not playing together on Wednesday in case we get sick of the sight of each other” – and took time to catch up with Peter Fowler and four-time PGA Tour of Australasia Legends Tour Order of Merit winner Brad Burns.

He conceded that Mickelson’s performance has been a popular topic of conversation and provided some friendly advice for US Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.

“I saw Steve Stricker out on course and told him that all of a sudden he’s got another player in the mix for the Ryder Cup that he has to look at,” Pampling said.

“There have been a few guys talk about just how amazing it was really.

“To win a Major at that age was pretty amazing.

“Phil’s played a few events out here and obviously played well.”

The timing of Pampling’s win in Las Vegas meant that he played the PGA TOUR right until becoming eligible for the Champions Tour in September 2019.

He didn’t finish lower than a tie for 17th in his first five starts on the senior circuit before the COVID-19 outbreak and six-month layoff halted his early momentum.

“I joke with people and say that I was in my prime but I couldn’t play because of COVID,” the now 51-year-old said.

“I was very confident coming out here and then COVID hit and we were out for six or seven months.

“The advantage that I had from playing was nearly null and void. I was starting from square one again.

“The top group out here are still incredible players. With the slightly shorter golf courses, you’ve got to play so good to have a chance over three rounds. You’ve got to come out of the gates firing straight away.

“The competition is strong and that’s why you see guys like Stricker, Jim Furyk, KJ Choi still out on the main tour at times still playing nice golf.”

Fowler is the first of the Aussies to tee off at 12.16am Thursday night followed by David McKenzie (3.25am), Brad Burns (3.36am), Stephen Leaney (3.58am) and finally Pampling and Senden at 4.09am.

Live coverage of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship begins at 3am Friday morning on Fox Sports 503.