Phil Mickelson, at 54 years old, had to miss his first LIV Golf start of the season due to a shoulder injury, when he was a late scratch for the tournament in Riyadh. He returned for the next one in Australia and capped it with his best round, shooting four under on Sunday.
So far he’s continuing the positive momentum. Mickelson opened with a three-under 67 at LIV Hong Kong on Friday, which was good enough for a tie for 14th place after the first round. Paul Casey leads at seven under, two clear of a large group at five under.
If this keeps up, Mickelson can credit a new strategy he’s decided to incorporate in 2025.
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“The last couple years I’ve been kind of fighting it, meaning I’ve been playing not inside myself, trying to overpower a course where I don’t have the speed like the guys with 190 [ball speed],” Mickelson said after his round. “This offseason I thought, alright, I’ve got to find another way. I’ve got to find another way to shoot scores and try to beat these guys.”
On Friday, Mickelson started on the 18th hole, made his first bogey on 1 and added birdies on 2, 3, 7 and 8. Three late birdies were mostly erased by two bogeys over his last four holes.
Mickelson was pleased with his tee ball but not with the mistakes (four bogeys), and he says limiting those will be his new formula moving forward, which is a far cry from his “hit bombs” mantra from a few years ago.
“The way I’m going to have to find another way to win is less mistakes,” Mickelson said. “I can’t afford to make that many bogeys. But I offset it with some birdies, and I hit a lot of good shots and a lot of good putts. I didn’t put myself so far behind after the first round.
“Tomorrow I’ve got to come out and eliminate those mistakes, make six, seven birdies, get back in it for Sunday,” he continued. “I’ve got to find another way because I’m not going to hang with the speed, so I’ve got to find another way.”
After this week, Mickelson has two events left (LIV Singapore and LIV Miami) before he’ll play in his 32nd Masters. He tied for 43rd at Augusta National last year but tied for second the year before.