Phil Mickelson continues to embarrass himself at LIV Golf, but he has no reason to worry
Simply told, Phil Mickelson is not currently playing well. And even that is an understatement.
Another way to say it is that it’s fortunate that Mickelson will receive a guaranteed $200 million from LIV Golf and that he is already qualified to compete in all four events. He would be in some problems if he actually had to rely on his game to earn a living or go to the major leagues.
I now understand what some of you are considering.
The guy is 52 years old and shouldn’t be expected to compete with the best players in the world. And maybe there is something to that. On the other hand, it’s been less than two years since he beat the best players in the world to win his sixth major championship.
In addition, they compete on a second-rate tour that features only a handful of top games. Sure, there are some big names in LIV Golf, but a lot of them, like Phil Mickelson himself, are long past their prime.
Plus, as mentioned, Mickelson gets $200 million in guaranteed money. Now, I’ve said it before, but I have no problem repeating it. Don’t you think LIV Golf expects a little more than they get from the 45-time PGA Tour winner?
Phil Mickelson is still having trouble at LIV Golf.
You’d think Phil Mickelson was excited about this weekend’s LIV Golf tournament in the state of Arizona, where the California native was once the face of amateur golf at Arizona State University. Additionally, the event was held in the city of Tucson, where he earned his first PGA Tour victory as an amateur in 1991.
But as he has done in nearly every single LIV Golf event thus far, Mickelson disappointed, shooting 70-67-75 to finish at 1-under for the week, good enough for just 32nd in the 48-player field. The team he drives, HyFlyers GC, finished 6th out of 12 in the team competition. In two events this season, the team is eighth in the overall standings, while Phil himself is a miserable 37th in the individual standings.
Tucson marked Mickelson’s ninth LIV Golf start, not including the Team
Championship, where there is no individual ranking. In those nine starts, Phil has only one top 10 finish, and in the other eight he was 17th or lower, most of them outside the top 30. In fact, overall in those nine starts, his average finish position is 30.2. That’s definitely not where you want to be in a field with 48 players without a chop. But with more guaranteed money and guaranteed spots in big companies, what is his motivation?
And speaking of majors, Mickelson is expected to play in the Masters after missing the tournament last year. But can we really expect him to play well given the current state of his game? If he shoots 1 over at El Camaleon Mayakoba and 1 under at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, what will Augusta National reveal?
Yes, as a three-time Masters champion, he obviously knows the course well. But Phil Mickelson needs to make some changes right away if he doesn’t want to keep embarrassing himself.
Maybe he’ll figure it out at LIV Golf-Orlando next week and come into Augusta with some momentum. But given how