Phil Mickelson is playing this week’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the PGA Tour Champions before planing to take some much-needed time off. But Mickelson won’t be completely off the grid. We’ll see him in just a couple of weeks.
Mickelson was recently announced as a member of the broadcast team for the latest edition of The Match, which will see Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka face off on Nov. 26 at the Wynn Las Vegas. The 51-year-old will join Charles Barkley and lead commentator Brian Anderson to call the action, while Amanda Balionis will serve as on-course reporter.
Mickelson, who has been a key figure in all of the previous editions of The Match, is now preparing for a new role.
“It will be interesting for me to be a part of that,” Mickelson said on Wednesday at the Charles Schwab in Phoenix. He added that he was scheduled to do a Q&A with both DeChambeau and Koepka later that night. That’s the thing; this time Mickelson is the one asking the questions — not answering them. “That’s a different dynamic. I’ll have a chance to be on course with them, too, and try to get out some of the personalities, some of the thought processes.”
The latter will be important for Mickelson, as there’s a stark contrast in the personalities of the event’s stars.
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“Both players are brilliant players, both players are great players, but both players do it a different way,” Mickelson said. “Their thought process is different. What I would like to do is kind of let that out and let that be seen. Obviously Bryson is very analytical, numbers, math, and a more scientific approach, and Brooks’ approach is using his talent, skill, feel, vision, visualization to bring out his best. I’m hoping that I can get them to articulate that a little bit better because I think it gives great insight into how great players like those two guys think and go throughout a round — and maybe throw in a few jabs here and there.”
Mickelson, of course, won’t be alone. He’ll have an experienced team of broadcasters he can lean on, including Barkley, whom Mickelson teamed up with last year to beat Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry.
“Charles is one of the funniest people I know, and he’s one of the quickest wit, articulate [broadcasters],” Mickelson said. “… You know, we’re partners and we’ve won before, so we have a certain credibility when we talk about The Match that I think will provide some insight, too.”
The 12-hole event between DeChambeau and Koepka begins at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 26. You can watch it on TNT, TBS, truTV or HLN.