Phil Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers of all time and it’s hard to argue that he isn’t missed on the PGA Tour since his move to LIV Golf.
Despite being well into his 50s now, Mickelson remains one of golf’s great characters and in terms of his actual golf game, he’s always been exciting to watch.
Over the years, we have seen some miracle shots by Mickelson and in fairness to him, that has carried on into the LIV scene as well at times.
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Of course, being a six-time major winner with 45 PGA Tour wins to his name means Mickelson has had to pull out big moments at crucial times. In doing so, Mickelson has often needed shots that are borderline miraculous.
But according to two-time major winner Johnny Miller, that is an element of Mickelson’s game that sets him apart.
Why Johnny Miller said Phil Mickelson was so popular with PGA Tour fans
We’ve seen Phil Mickelson hit some of the most inventive shots ever during his career and while he has come up trumps many times, he’s also come up short as well.
Of course, Mickelson’s popularity when on the PGA Tour was unrivalled and a lot of the time it was because he had to be so creative.
Indeed, according to Johnny Miller, that’s what made Mickelson just like the great Arnold Palmer.
“You know the one thing that sets Phil apart, it seems like the guys who hit it in the trees are the most popular for the fans because they get to see it close up”, Miller said back in 2014.
“It’s funny. Arnold Palmer was that way and guys who spray it a little, like Tiger Woods, I guess the fans sort of relate to their recovery shots.
“But Phil’s been really good for the game and he takes time out for people and you know, 42 wins (at the time) in the modern era, if it wasn’t for Tiger he would be the man. And he can beat Tiger when he gets hot.
“He likes to go the thrill route and just like Palmer and Greg Norman, they might even have won more tournaments if they could have picked their spots a bit more but that’s what makes Phil so exciting to watch.”
Phil Mickelson’s biggest near misses in the majors
As Miller mentions in his spiel here, there are plenty of times where Mickelson has just come up short and in reality, if things had gone another way, he’d be in double figures for majors.
Yes, six wins is by no means unimpressive but it could have been so much more.
He fluffed a one shot lead with three holes to play in 2004 at the US Open, while he made a double bogey on 18 at Winged Foot in 2006 to throw things away to Geoff Ogilvy.
Mickelson also missed chances at The US Open in 1999 to hand Payne Stewart his opening, which he duly took, while in 2013 at Merion, he went into the final round as the leader before a nightmare final round of 74 allowed Justin Rose to win.
In short, Mickelson has had a superb career but knows he could have squeezed more out of it.
Ultimately, the career grand slam will evade him and for a man of his talent and character, it seems a great shame that is the case.
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