Phil Mickelson: Not Retired Yet

Why is Phil Mickelson such a tease? Its really not fair, to be honest. Phil is a legend on the PGA Tour, and it’s almost impossible not to pull for him when he works his way into contention. The problem with Phil is that whenever he’s in contention, it’s usually him being a few strokes off the lead after the round on Friday, not enough for him to have a real chance of winning the tournament, but enough to get people thinking what would happen if he made a move on the weekend. That seems to be the case yet again this weekend, as Phil is in a comfortable tie for 15th place at the Safeway Open, but a whopping 7 shots off the lead held by Web.com Tour alum Tyler Duncan.

Phil has been overdue for a win for years now. It’s crazy to think that his last win was 4 years ago at the 2013 Open Championship. He’s definitely had a few close calls too, most notably the 2016 Open, where his final round 65 just wasn’t enough to take down Henrik Stenson. Overall, Phil has struggled to put together four rounds solid enough to win him another tournament. Of course the 2016 Open was an exception, but for the most part he keeps getting outplayed, or just flat out beat whenever he’s close to the top of the leaderboard. Let’s face it, Phil’s not getting any younger, and it seems like there’s a new rookie phenom on Tour every other week. Golf is becoming just as much a game of fitness now as it has been a game of sheer talent, mental strength and situational awareness, and an aging Phil is having trouble keeping up with the younger kids.

However, with that in mind, Phil has been focusing a lot more on fitness in recent years. Asked recently what separated him from Tiger in his prime, Phil replied that had he possessed the same work ethic in the gym that Tiger had, he would be roughly equivalent to Tiger in the eyes of the record books. Now, Lefty just doesn’t possess that same cutthroat attitude that Tiger had in his prime, but I don’t doubt that had Phil been a little more in shape in his younger years, he certainly would have more major victories (as well as career grand slam) to his name.

Well what does that all mean now? I personally think that Phil will win again on Tour. The combination of him being more in shape, all the close calls he’s had that only seem to fuel him more, and the fact that Lefty is practically ageless, all spell out more success for Phil in the future. I guarantee he will win again on Tour, and I guarantee that he will win again soon. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that if Phil can find a little more magic in his tank, I wouldn’t sell him out for the 2018 US Open just yet.

Phil is playing on familiar territory at Shinnecock, where a double bogey on the 71st hole may have cost him the championship in 2014. Despite that bad memory, he has played well at Shinnecock over the years. Plus, unlike most modern US Open tracks, it’s not a terribly long course, never maxing out at more than 7,000 yards in each of its last three times hosting the US Open. Granted, major championships are a completely different beast than a regular tournament, but Mickelson needs just three things to go right for him to have a shot at winning. If he can keep the ball in the fairways, summon some of his short game magic, and have a really strong putting week, he can definitely contend with the Spieths, Rorys and DJs of the Tour.

Maybe I’m just an optimist, but until the day he officially retires, I still think Phil will have a chance to win the slam. But the US Open is a long ways away, and Phil needs to focus on winning tournaments again before he can start picturing himself with the US Open trophy in his hands. But who knows? Chesson Hadley put up a 61 yesterday to shoot himself into contention. A round like that, and Phil could very well re-enter the winner’s circle in wine country this weekend. Lefty’s magic isn’t gone yet…..

Written by Paul Choma