Phil Mickelson was at the PGA Championship last month.
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Liv Golf’s team concept often expands to league press conferences, which was happening Wednesday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, where Phil Mickelson and his hyflyer teammates faced the media were four.
About halfway through the session, Mickelson’s carefully selected Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale and Andy Ogletree were asked to reflect on their captain’s legacy.
Steele praised Mickelson’s work ethics, longevity and “infectious” energy; Tringale summoned Mickelson’s bold style, and the “real” way he interacted with people. Ogletree, the youngest Hyfler at the age of 27, said he was not “qualified” to reflect on his boss’ legacy, but he always appreciated Mickelson’s guidance. Naturally, no mention of any tricky elements of Mickelson’s past—namely, his huge gambling debt or the knife he pinned it directly to the back of PGA Tour—but this is not a forum for explicit objectivity. It is a platform to celebrate six professionals, and he played a major role in hosting a new global golf tour, overhauling the financing of professional golf for men more extensively.
Frankly, it’s hard to imagine professional games no matter what you taste about Mickelson No he. Since he won his first PGA Tour with Arizona State’s pop amateur championship (34 years ago), Mickelson has been firmly aware of the imagination of golf fans. Thanks to his otherworldly skills, a preference for risks and risks is also required in the case of courses and closures. Still, no supplemental infused coffee can keep Mickelson Young forever, no matter what his natural talent range.
Phil got it. The statistics tell him. So far, Mickelson has largely been irrelevant during his reign. In 2022, he finished 39th in various points competitions, then ranked 33rd in 23 years and 50th a year ago. His condition not only hurts his own bottom line, but also his team.
“I want to be realistic,” he said Wednesday after teammates’ flattery. “I want this team to succeed. I don’t want to stop it. If I’m not an asset, if I don’t help, if I back down, it’s time for me to move on and let others here really help the team win and succeed.” He added that the Hyfyers’ progress was: “I feel like I’ve held it for the last few years.”
For Mickelson, these words were not easy. He has always been an enthusiastic optimist when it comes to his abilities. You know that if you listen to either of him…oh, we’ve called it a 120 or so press conference throughout his career. If the new swing key or driver tweak doesn’t excite Mickelson’s chances in a given week, a new bunker sand or smoothie recipe will do.
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If you ingest most of your golf content via YouTube and you catch any Mickelson vs. Grant Horvat, you know that, too. You need to dig into the playlist to find any evidence of Mickelson’s lack of confidence. This belief—the deep confidence that he can hit any shot at any time—makes Mickelson great. On several memorable occasions, it also undoes him. (See, Wings’ Feet, 2006, “I’m such an idiot.)
It also helps explain why Captain Phil is not quite Be prepared to arrange yourself.
“I played better this year,” he said Wednesday. “My off-season is great. I don’t feel like I’m holding it [my team] Come back now. If I can continue to perform well, please help the team succeed, then I want to play. ”
Mickelson recorded his best Liv ever when he was ranked third in Hong Kong. A month later, he finished sixth in the Miami event at Liv. But in the next few weeks he missed a layoff in the Masters (75-72), outside the top 20 in Mexico City and South Korea’s Liv tournament, and then missed a layoff in the PGA Championship at Quail How (79-72). His third major appearance of the season will be held next week at the U.S. Open in Oakmont and reminds his glory era is numbered. That’s because of the five-year U.S. public waiver that Mickelson won the 2021 PGA championship when it expires this year.
So, can Oakmont be used as Mickelson’s open swan song?
“It’s very likely, but I didn’t really think about it too much,” he said.
Of course, there are other ways to go back to the open path, whether through qualifying or through the USGA’s special invitation. But ensure Appearance, 2025 is the last one for Phil. Not surprisingly, though, he chose not to introduce this reality, but to turn to why he felt he would prepare for the beast of the waiting test.
“What I think of is the similarities of this week’s courses that we’ll see next week,” Mickelson said. “Our greens on the stimulator are in 14 to 15, just like we do next week.” He added: “Short game, touch, circle greens, roughness, speed, lag drills and speed and touch vegetables, all of which are the same things as next week are crucial. This is a better place to be ready.”
See, Optimists.
Alan bastable
Golf.comEdit
As executive editor of Golf.com, Bastable is responsible for editorial guidance and voice for one of the game’s most respected and highly trafficked news and service websites. He wore many hats – editing, writing, conceiving, developing, breaking his daydream of 80 in one day – and was lucky enough to work with such a talented and hardworking writer, editor and producer. He was the feature editor for Golf Magazine before Golf.com caught Reins. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond and Columbia Journalism, living in New Jersey with his wife and children of four.
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