Fifty years and two months old, Phil Mickelson is ready for the Champions Tour. So ready that he’ll make his debut on the senior circuit this coming week, just days after missing the cut at The Northern Trust.
Mickelson told reporters at TPC Boston he intends to play in the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, which begins on Monday and concludes on Wednesday. He then confirmed it again with a tweet saying, “I’ve been playing well and I want to play. I wish I was playing in Chicago next week but excited to play my first Champions event.”
Much has been made in years past of whether or not Mickelson and his current contemporaries (like Tiger Woods) would play on the Champions Tour. Some elite PGA Tour veterans enjoy continuing their playing careers on the Champions Tour while others have decided not to.
It will be a quick turn-around trip to Missouri, but Mickelson just carded a 68 at TPC Boston Friday. It was a first-round 74 that ended his hopes of making the weekend and advancing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Should we expect Mickelson to contend right away on the Champions Tour? It is a very fair expectation. Most pros who maintain lengthy PGA Tour careers, well into their late-40s, are able to contend right away on the Champions Tour. Jim Furyk is just the most recent example, winning the Ally Challenge just earlier this month.