There should really be no surprise at all when Phil Mickelson produces a moment of magic, with the six-time major champion almost relishing the stage whenever he puts himself in some sort of trouble.
This hugely impressive chapter of Phil Mickelson‘s career continued this week, with Lefty very much in the mix to win LIV Golf Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Ultimately, he just ran out of steam and finished two shots back of Joaquin Niemann in Gainesville.
Mickelson did have a share of the lead at one stage. But he could not quite keep up with the pace. Thankfully, when he did put himself in trouble, he was able to produce a moment of audacious brilliance to keep his hopes alive.
Mickelson was not far away from having his back to the flag on the 17th hole, with his ball on the lip just outside the bunker. The 54-year-old was forced to have his feet in the sand.
Golf fans stunned by Phil Mickelson’s chip in at LIV Golf Virginia
Of course, anyone who has watched any golf on YouTube over the years knows that Mickelson has the ability to hit the ball backwards over his head. So it should not have been a shock that he was able to find the green.
But not only did he find the putting surface, Mickelson was able to hole the shot to make a birdie. It was a stunning shot which, understandably, left many on social media stunned.
One fan wrote: ‘Wow, that’s insane!!‘ Another said: ‘Outrageous‘, while someone else posted: ‘Unreal!‘
Another doubted whether they had actually seen the shot, saying: ‘this gotta be AI bc that’s ridiculous‘.
One fan posted: ‘One of the best shots I have ever seen. All class @PhilMickelson‘. And it was a similar story from someone else, as they wrote: ‘HOW IN THE??? This is one of the craziest shots I have ever seen.’
And finally, one fan simply posted: ‘Greatness.’
What Phil Mickelson said about Oakmont ahead of next week’s US Open
Mickelson has already suggested that he could be about to make his final US Open appearance next week at Oakmont. Obviously, it remains the one major which he is yet to win.
Interestingly, Mickelson said ahead of this week’s tournament that this event was an ideal way to prepare for the third major of the year.
“What I have thought about is how similar this week’s course is set up to what we’ll see next week. We have greens that are rolling 14 to 15 on the stimpmeter just like we will next week,” he said.
“We have contours, undulations just like we will next week. I think it’s a great way to prepare for next week without minimizing the effects of this week because this is the first tournaments of our second half of LIV, and we all need and want and are working hard to getting off to a good start and making the second half of LIV great.
“It’s also a great way to prepare for next week.
“Short game, touch, chipping around the greens, rough, speed, lag drills and speed and touch on the greens, all of that’s critical here same thing as next week. It couldn’t be a better spot to get ready.”
Mickelson should not really be in contention to win next week. But given that he has more top twos at the US Open than any other major, it would be foolish to write off his hopes of contending entirely.
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