Phil Mickelson continues to defy what should be possible for a golfer in their mid-50s, with the six-time major champion enjoying a much better season on LIV Golf.
One of the stats which may have jumped out at you over the first three seasons of LIV Golf was the fact that Phil Mickelson had not won a single individual title in the league. While there are a number of superstar names, some may have expected everything to click for Mickelson at some stage to the point where he could win a 54-hole event.
But Lefty did struggle for a while. He was 46th in the individual standings for the 2024 season, with one top 10 finish along the way. He has already surpassed that in 2024.
Mickelson finished third in Hong Kong and sixth at LIV Golf Miami. His hopes of winning at Doral were ended by Mickelson receiving an awful break in the final round, in which his chip shot on the seventh hole smashed into the pin and rolled back into the water.
Phil Mickelson’s chances at The Masters assessed after LIV Golf Miami
Of course, The Masters is the next stop for Mickelson. And he has very happy memories of playing at Augusta National, with three wins under his belt.
A tied second finish in 2023 was almost as impressive, with Mickelson 52 years of age at the time. And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that you simply cannot count Mickelson out from contending at the first major of the year.
“I think he absolutely would be a good dark horse. I think you can sort of dismiss what he did earlier this year on LIV. He had a top three finish in Hong Kong, but it was a very tight and short golf course. He wasn’t hitting driver, he was plotting his way around. But he has clearly found something in his game,” he said.
“He is showing finally at this age, you talk about older pitchers who can no longer just throw heat on the outside corner. You have to paint it and pitch differently. I feel like Phil is at this stage of his career where he is not just the swashbuckler any more. He’s like okay, I can try and hit bombs but I really just need to do my best to be middle of the pack at this point. He can still do damage with his wedges and scoring clubs and can still get hot with the putter and obviously his short game skills have never really left him.
“I think we have started to see that evolution from Phil. Take what you want from the LIV results. Played well last week at Doral, and entirely different test from what he did and how he performed a month or so ago. He finished in a tie for second a couple of years ago and he was nowhere near in this sort of form. That came out of nowhere. He clearly knows how to play the golf course and I think he has command in his game that I would not totally discount him as a wild card.”
How Phil Mickelson reacted to his remarkable 2023 Masters performance
Mickelson had not really been in any sort of form at all on LIV in the weeks leading up to the 2023 Masters. He also did not feature in the 2022 event, with Augusta members encouraging Mickelson to stay away following the anger over how his upcoming move to LIV was being handled.
Mickelson began the final day 10 shots off the lead – held by Brooks Koepka – but went on to post a stunning 65 for the joint lowest round in his Masters career. And afterwards he insisted that he felt that that sort of performance was coming.
“Yeah, it just reaffirms that I knew I was close. I’ve been hitting quality shots. This doesn’t feel like a fluke. It wasn’t like I hit shots I haven’t been hitting. I stayed present and didn’t make loose swings or those bad swings at an inopportune time. I stayed very present and calm throughout, then executed and had a blast,” he said.
“Like this is so much fun. Again, we’re all grateful that we’re able to play and compete here, and I think it’s tremendous for this tournament to have all the best players in the world here. Then as a past champion, to be able to still be a part of it, it means a lot.”
Mickelson has missed at least one cut at the other three majors over the last three years. Meanwhile, the last time he failed to make the cut at The Masters was 2016.
There is something about Mickelson and The Masters, and there seems a good chance that that love affair continues this week.
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