Phil Mickelson confronting his golfing mortality (and U.S. Open farewell?)

LIV Golf’s team concept often extends to the league’s press conferences, which was the case Wednesday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, in Virginia, where Phil Mickelson and his HyFlyer teammates faced the media as a foursome.   

Roughly midway through the session, Mickelson’s handpicked squad of Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale and Andy Ogletree was asked to reflect on their captain’s legacy.

Steele lauded Mickelson’s work ethic, longevity and “infectious” energy; Tringale called out Mickelson’s bold style of play and the “authentic” way in which he engages with people; Ogletree, the youngest HyFler at 27, said he didn’t “feel qualified” to reflect on his boss’s legacy but that he always has appreciated Mickelson’s mentorship. Not mentioned, naturally, were any of the thornier elements of Mickelson’s past — i.e., his massive gambling debts or the knife he stuck squarely in the PGA Tour’s back — but this was no forum for clear-eyed objectivity. It was a platform for celebrating a six-time major winner who has been instrumental in standing up a new global golf tour and, more broadly, overhauling the financing of men’s professional golf.

Frankly, whatever your taste for Mickelson, it’s hard to imagine the pro game without him. Ever since he won his first PGA Tour event as a pop-collared amateur from Arizona State — that was 34 years ago — Mickelson has maintained a firm grasp on golf fans’ imaginations. Credit his otherworldly skill but also his penchant for risk and derring-do, both on the course and off. Still, no matter the scope of his innate talents, no volume of supplement-infused coffee can keep Mickelson young forever.

Phil gets that. The stats tell him so. Thus far in his LIV tenure, Mickelson largely has been irrelevant. In 2022, he finished 39th in the individual points race, followed by 33rd in ’23 and a lowly 50th a year ago. His form hasn’t just hurt his own bottom line but also his team’s.  

“I want to be realistic,” he said Wednesday in the wake of the flattery from his teammates. “I want this team to succeed. I don’t want to hold it back. If I’m not an asset, if I’m not helping, if I’m holding it back, then it’s time for me to move on and get somebody else in here who is going to really help the team win and succeed.” He added of the HyFlyers’ progression, “I feel like I’ve held it back the last couple years.”

Those can’t be easy words for Mickelson to utter. When it comes to his own abilities, he’s always been a fervent optimist. You know this if you’ve listened to any of his … oh, let’s call it 120 or so pre-major press conferences throughout his career. If a new swing key or driver tweak didn’t have Mickelson excited about his chances in a given week, then a new bunker sand or smoothie recipe did.

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You also know this if you ingest most of your golf content through YouTube and have caught any of Mickelson’s matches against or alongside Grant Horvat. You’ll need to dig deep into the playlists to find any evidence of Mickelson lacking confidence. That conviction — the deep self-belief that he can pull off any shot at any time — has made Mickelson great. It also, on several memorable occasions, has undone him. (see, Winged Foot, 2006, “I’m such an idiot.)    

It also helps explains why Capt. Phil isn’t quite ready to bench himself.

“This year I’ve played better,” he said Wednesday. “I had a great off-season. I don’t feel I’m holding [my team] back now. If I can continue to play well, help the team succeed, then I want to play.”

In March, Mickelson recorded his best-ever LIV finish when he tied for third in Hong Kong. A month later, he finished sixth at LIV’s Miami event at Trump Doral. But in the ensuing weeks, he missed the cut at the Masters (75-72), finished outside the top 20 in LIV’s events in Mexico City and Korea and then missed another cut at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow (79-72). His third major appearance of the season will come at the U.S. Open at Oakmont next week, and with it, another reminder that his glory days are numbered. That’s because the five-year U.S. Open exemption that Mickelson earned when he won the 2021 PGA Championship expires this year.    

Could Oakmont, then, serve as Mickelson’s Open swan song?

“There’s a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven’t really thought about it too much,” he said Wednesday.

There are other paths back to the Open, of course — either via qualifying or by special invitation from the USGA. But in terms of a guaranteed appearance, 2025 is the last for Phil. No surprise, though, he elected not to dwell on that reality, instead pivoting to why he feels like he’ll be ready for the beast of a test that awaits.

“What I have thought about is how similar this week’s course is set up to what we’ll see next week,” Mickelson said. “We have greens that are rolling 14 to 15 on the Stimpmeter just like we will next week.” He added, “Short game, touch, chipping around the greens, rough, speed, lag drills and speed and touch on the greens, all of that’s critical here same thing as next week. It couldn’t be a better spot to get ready.”

See, optimist.