Phil Mickelson claims he’s had an ‘epiphany’ ahead of The Open and one part of his game has got so much better

Add as preferred source on Google

Phil Mickelson will be looking to win his second Open Championship and the seventh major of his career at Royal Portrush next week.

Mickelson reigned supreme at Muirfield in 2013 after winning The Open following a scintillating final round of five-under par 66.

The 55-year-old went on to win one more major after that, at the 2021 PGA Championship, and a lot has changed for him since then.

Mickelson is now playing on the LIV Golf tour and his days of contending at major championships may well now be a thing of the past.

It was only last month when Mickelson said he may not play a US Open ever again, but he’s exempt to play in The Open until he’s 60 and at The Masters until he hangs up his clubs.

Mickelson missed the cut at The Open the last time it was held at Portrush in 2019, but he heads into the fourth major of the year in 2025 with a renewed sense of optimism.

The Californian has actually played some really good golf this year on LIV, and he may well be gearing up for a strong showing in Northern Ireland.

Phil Mickelson claims he’s had a ‘epiphany’ ahead of The Open

Whilst Mickelson winning The Open this year would be a major shock, it shouldn’t surprise anybody if he finishes inside the top 20.

He clearly has the game needed to be successful around links golf courses and experience always plays a major role at The Open.

Mickelson opened up on one area of his game that has improved massively, when taking part in Grant Horvat’s 2v2 Series on the content creator’s YouTube channel.

The six-time major champion admitted one part of his game that had become a liability is now razor sharp.

When speaking to Horvat, Mickelson said: “I do have some good news for you. I have had an epiphany with my short game. The week before the DC Virginia it just totally flipped.

“After I did that I went and shot a short game video because it forced me to rethink about all the things I am doing because I never had to think about it.

“I have been struggling with short game for a while, but I have finally started to understand because I started asking questions, made the change and it’s been great.

“I am able to use a 64 now. Because my technique was off it wasn’t an asset, it was a liability.“

What the R&A told Phil Mickelson about The Open champions dinner in 2022

When The Open was held at St Andrews back in 2022, Mickelson and many other PGA Tour pros had just jumped ship to LIV.

And as a result, Mickelson was advised not to attend the champions dinner at St Andrews.

Back in 2022, Mickelson explained: “The R&A contacted me a couple weeks before and said, look, we don’t think it’s a great idea you go, but if you want to, you can. I just didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I said fine. We both kind of agreed that it would be best if I didn’t.”

The rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf seems to have abated somewhat since then.

So hopefully Mickelson will be welcomed with open arms at all of the festivities at Royal Portrush next week. He’s more than deserving of that, regardless of what tour he plays on.