Phil Mickelson is in contention at LIV Hong Kong after rolling back the years to shoot three under par and be just four off the leaders ahead of round two.
The American remains determined to keep playing and competing despite being into his 50s now and the LIV Golf circuit is very much keeping him going.
However, he has rarely been in contention to win since moving to LIV and some have even suggested he might step away at some point soon.
But after shooting three-under in Hong Kong, Mickelson will feel reinvigorated and after his performance, he discussed a change in putter that’s helped him.
Phil Mickelson explains his change of putter at LIV Hong Kong
Mickelson was speaking to the media after his opening round out in Hong Kong and the subject matter soon turned to the putter he was using.
Mickelson could be seen playing with a more modern mallet type putter than the old blade we’ve seen him use so often. And the six-time major winner admitted there waa good reason behind the change.
“So it helps me get more instinctive, and it’s what I grew up with. I putt with more instinct rather than aim here, hit it here. So I kind of match up the speed,” Mickelson said.
“But Jon Yarbrough has really helped me because he is very good with AimPoint and tells me it’s a one, it’s a two, and then the grain is doing this, and if it’s going with it I’ll give a little more, if it’s going against I’ll give it a little less.
“He’s really helped me on these greens to get a better visual of what the ball is going to do. These greens have always been challenging for me, and I feel like we got pretty dialed in. I made some good putts.”
What Phil Mickelson thinks LIV Golf do better than the PGA Tour
While he might not be a serial winner anymore, Phil Mickelson is very much an advocate for LIV Golf and he’s always keen to big up the PIF-backed product.
Indeed, just this week, Mickelson has been speaking about why he loves LIV so much, compared to the PGA Tour.
“Yeah. First of all, it’s an incredible experience, but you walk away feeling like you had fun rather than being anxious not wanting to upset the players or making sure the kids are always in the right spot,” Mickelson said.
“It’s much more relaxed to where the whole family comes, enjoys the experience. There’s a kid zone where if they get tired they can go lay down, they can play.”
Mickelson is very much the spokesperson on the LIV tour when it comes to bigging things up but deep down, he’ll want to prove he can still win as well.
Hong Kong has giving him a chance and if he can keep putting well, then he might just get back in the winner’s circle.
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