The most revealing and pivotal moment for Phil Mickelson on the way to filming the lowest debut round in PGA Tour Champions history on Monday took place on the 13th green of the Ozarks National Golf Course. The 18-footer he converted lit up a streak of five consecutive birdies to push him to a 10-under 61 and the lead, so there was that. But then there was the first pump that followed. He clenched his jaw. He emphatically dropped his left hand. It mattered. He is there. To compete. Vying for a slice of a $ 3 million bag when he’s used to flaunting buffets of $ 9 million or more.
Why it matters is left to guesswork.
Did he want to impress on his senior debut? Sure. Did he want to make up for the first start of his career in the FedEx Cup playoffs the week before? Presumably. Did he have anything to prove to himself? Could be. Who could still pull some low scores? Yes, yes and yes. Did he have a burning desire to become the 20th man in PGA Tour Champions history to win on his first start, or does he have more important things in mind?
Seriously, what do you think?
Phil Mickelson flooded into the senior tour this week and left little doubt about the damage he could have done if he became a regular in his 50s and older. A rather superficial five-under 66 on Wednesday was enough to secure not only a four-stroke win in the Charles Schwab Series at the Ozarks National, but also a psychological reinforcement that he hoped was a leftover from the experience.
And that’s what Mickelson was hoping to find, more or less.
After missing the cut on Friday at The Northern Trust, the PGA Tour’s opening playoff event, Mickelson, who turned 50 in June, promptly opted for a detour to Ridgedale, Mo., with the express purpose of working on some shots in a competitive atmosphere and “Build some momentum.” Reuniting with old friends was fine and all, and Mickelson has repeatedly talked about enjoying the experience, which included the pleasant addition of $ 450,000 to his bank account. But the US Open at the Winged Foot is three weeks away and the Masters is in November, and the old southpaw didn’t heat up in the bullpen this week just to go out and win the Charles Schwab Cup.
“I had a lot of fun here, really,” Mickelson said. “I hope I can play in others too, but I also want to use this as a way to get sharp for the regular tour and the majors.”
And now? It will kick off in two weeks at the PGA Tour season opener, the Safeway Open in Napa, California, before heading to New York. “I’ll be working on my game next week and a half, see if I can be really strong for the US Open,” he said, revealing more about where his head and heart really are. “Obviously I have a lot of work to do [for] some redemption at the Winged Foot, but it’s a great golf course and I’m looking forward to the challenge. “
Phil moves a needle? The unmistakable needle champion, Tiger Woods, was asked about the enigmatic southpaw Wednesday morning at the BMW Championship, near Chicago, the event for which Mickelson was unable to qualify, thus prompting his decision for less green pasture but more plucked these last three days. Is BMW a FedEx Cup playoff event with a $ 9.5 million scholarship, and is senior golf on the menu? Only because of Phil.
“Playing incredible golf,” Woods said, apparently taking little interest in his rival’s activities. “He said he was close to playing well. I think he was already one of the longest hitters here, and now he goes where he will take a huge lead off the tee, but you have to take that opportunity off the tee. His wedge game is off the charts, as we all know. … There’s no reason he can’t win all the events he plays out there. “
Unsurprisingly, there were many interested parties. Aside from televised ratings, Twitter is perhaps the best barometer for gauging interest in a golf tournament, and Mickelson’s posts have multiplied on the social media platform since his Monday. A veteran golf reporter wrote, “Damn you, Phil,” for getting him interested in seniors scores. Well, he wasn’t alone.
Oh, and those televised ratings. Golf Channel reported a 150 percent rating increase on Monday and nearly 300 percent Tuesday for its coverage of the PGA Tour Champions compared to scheduling in the same time period (6-8pm EDT) the previous four weeks. Tuesday’s coverage was Golf Central Live’s most watched TV show during the 2019 Masters. (Wednesday’s data was not yet available.)
No wonder his colleagues have been eager to see him join the ranks. They recognize that Ernie Els and Jim Furyk, Mike Weir and Rich Beem, all major champions, are formidable additions to the pack of older statesmen this year, but no one has ever conjured up an advertising campaign titled “What will Ernie do next?”
“I’m glad it was sooner rather than later,” said two-time US Open champion Lee Janzen of Mickelson’s appearance. “Obviously his career… stellar. Bring a lot of attention to our tour. He’s also a big presence for the pros, in the locker room, talking about garbage. It’s fun to have him around. “
“I think all of us out here would like him to play a lot here, because he brings such a presence, but I don’t think any of us would expect him to,” said Steve Flesch. “It gives our tour great exposure, as do many other new guys like Jim Furyk, Ernie, Retief. But Phil is just another step up in popularity. That’s just what the fans like. And you saw he just dismantled the golf course here. The rest of us mere mortals have to play one way. He is playing on another universe out there.
“He just walked in and blew us up. I would have liked some big names to push it, “Flesch added.” My concern is that he might not find it challenging enough. Not to belittle anyone on our tour, but boy is he [ranked] 50 something in the world. We all know where he should play. “
It didn’t even seem like a fair fight. The five times greater coffee winner has no gray hair, stands without bending over, has stayed fit and has maintained his flexibility, and doesn’t seem particularly interested in giving his driver an appreciable duration respite. He attacked Ozark National, who, incidentally, is generous off the tee, with a driving average of 323.7 yards. And he delivered one of several highlight reel shots using the same club in round two to escape from under a tree, with the ball perched on pine straw and bark.
As usual, Phil knows how to excite.
Not that this always excites Phil. Earlier this year he looked like a man who envisioned a little more scoring efficiency.
“I think I can play at an extremely high level,” he said. “I just need to show it. I have to show what I believe in. “
There have been many established players who have joined the senior tour over the years since Jack Nicklaus dipped his big toe sporadically in 1990, began collecting senior majors with relative ease and then remained a bit obsessed with winning the only four. majors that matter. Since then, it can be argued, no one in their 50s has been more focused, better prepared and seemingly capable of winning a major championship than Mickelson.
At 54th place in the world rankings, it could still be a threat in any major even if it is not a threat in any major.
Just last month Mickelson finished T-2 at WGC-FedEx St. Jude, where he became the first player aged 50 or older to finish in the top five in a WGC event. Last year, he won a record-breaking fifth title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his 44th PGA Tour win, and the year before he broke a nearly five-year winless streak by defeating the champion in FedEx Cup charge Justin Thomas in a playoff at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
A month before Pebble’s triumph, Mickelson opened the American Express with a 60. It can still bring some heat. And it can still go out, as witnessed from time to time, which only adds to its aura and intensifies the fascination with which fans, both casual and golf enthusiast, hold it. Is there another player in the world who advances a golf ball with more abandon and has more fun doing it?
Once upon a time, Arnold Palmer left the building.
Mickelson is the first player since Tom Watson to stick a peg in the front tees that we could consider as a true “legendary type” figure. The two guys who perhaps came closest were Fred Couples and John Daly, for different, and very separate reasons. And Mickelson, frankly, could be the last, unless Woods decides, in five or more years, that he wants to spread a final layer of screaming on his peers.
How long will Mickelson stay around his senior companions? This is the real question and the answer would seem not to be much. At least for the foreseeable future.
In February, before almost defending his title at Pebble Beach, Mickelson said he didn’t want to “hurt the Champions Tour in any way, and if not playing the Champions Tour it hurts, I’ll play a couple of events. I’ll probably play one,” two or three events a year because I want to support it; I want it to be successful. “
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Mickelson was quite in love with the direction his game was going and was highly motivated for future possibilities. He put this sign: “This motivates me to compete against the best players in the world. This pushes me to enter the gym, pushes me to work hard on the pitch, pushes me to spend time on the green. And I’m not sure I would have the same passion and the same desire to be my best in the Champions Tour, but I have it here and so right now it’s starting to bring out the best in me and I want to play here. “
The previous three days in Missouri had already been set to give the PGA Tour Champions a place of light to enjoy, as there were no other competitive golf events against it. Then Phil Mickelson swooped in and changed the whole complexion of the thing. It is for this reason that the rest of the senior contingent want his increased presence, even if it means he will throttle them with bombs.
A World Golf Hall-of-Famer, Mickelson could add his name to a long line of excellent golfers who have eagerly sought to compete on both tours. But seriously, what’s the point?
Mediate summed it up best. “Hopefully he plays some more, but he’s still fine on the regular tour. It still has a great game, as you can see. “
He also has great aspirations.
.
