Brendan Steele shares what people forget about Phil Mickelson and don’t give him enough credit for

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Phil Mickelson will probably be the first to say that he had an incredibly disappointing year, with the HyFlyers captain finishing just above the relegation zone on LIV Golf this season.

Of course, Phil Mickelson remains one of the biggest names LIV Golf has ever signed, with the 54-year-old winning six major titles in his career. He was arguably Tiger Woods’ greatest and most consistent rival, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2012.

But it would appear that time may be catching up on Lefty. Mickelson finished 46th in the individual standings on LIV this past season, finishing in the top 20 on just one occasion throughout the year. He would also miss the cut at two of the major championships, with his best result being a tied 43rd finish at The Masters.

Brendan Steele suggests what many forget about Phil Mickelson

But perhaps it is much too soon to write Mickelson off. He became the oldest major champion when he clinched the PGA Championship in 2021, while he was tied for second at Augusta National in 2023. And speaking on Fairway To Heaven, HyFlyers teammate Brendan Steele suggested that people overlook how good Mickelson has been up until recently.

“The game that I saw all season from him is indicative of the way he can play, and I think the way that he will play next year. The limiting factors for his age would be injury and speed, and he’s not struggling for either one of those, so that’s what I always tell him,” he said.

“I’m like, ‘forget how old you are, the other 55 year olds are injured, they can’t keep up with the speed, they don’t want to do it anymore, you don’t have that’. So there’s no limitation, people will forget that The Masters was only 2023 and they’ll forget that the PGA was not that long ago, it was two PGA’s ago. They don’t give him enough credit from that standpoint.”

Glimpses in Dallas

Mickelson provided a glimpse of the competitor he remains at LIV Golf Dallas as the team championship was decided. It appeared to be a formality when Torque chose to face HyFlyers in the quarter-final. Torque, of course, included Joaquin Niemann who nearly denied Jon Rahm the individual title.

Mickelson surprised many by putting himself in the foursomes alongside Steele, with Mito Pereira and Carlos Ortiz their opponents. And everything appeared to be going as expected, with Torque going three up at one stage.

However, Mickelson and Steele fought back to spring a massive surprise.

Their run would end in the semi-final, but Steele clearly believes that Mickelson has so much still to offer before he calls time on his career.