Phil Mickelson, Now 395th in the World, Ready to Return to the Masters
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — Phil Mickelson spent time at Augusta National over the weekend, a normally benign occurrence leading up to the Masters—if you fail to consider all that has transpired since the last time he visited the home of the year’s first major championship.
Mickelson tied for 21st at the 2021 Masters, a little more than a month prior to shocking the golf world at the PGA Championship, where at age 50 he became the oldest major champion by adding a sixth major title to his resume.
A good bit has transpired since Mickelson left Magnolia Lane for Washington Road.
As the reigning PGA champion, Mickelson missed the Masters last year as he was in the midst of a four-month break from competition that he initiated and that eventually turned into a PGA Tour suspension.
Mickelson would miss his PGA Championship title defense, too, and then became one of LIV Golf’s first high-profile signees, a high-profile lightning rod whose opinions on how we got to this point have been well-vetted.
On Wednesday, Mickelson was quietly going about his business in getting ready for the third event of the LIV season, LIV Golf Orlando, which begins Friday at Orange County National.
Getting to Augusta National for a couple of days of practice on Sunday and Monday was a logical diversion for someone who will compete in the Masters.
“Everything was really cool," Mickelson said during a brief interview. “Yeah, it was great. I’m very appreciative to go back."
Mickelson, 52, will play the Masters for 30th time, dating to his first appearance in 1991 as an amateur. Since his first Masters as a pro in 1993, Mickelson had missed the tournament just once—in 1994 due to a skiing accident—before skipping last year’s tournament.
That led to speculation the Masters asked him not to come, which chairman Fred Ridley denied prior to the event.
“We did not disinvite Phil," Ridley said. “Phil is a three-time Masters champion and is invited in that category and many other categories; he’s the defending PGA champion.
“Phil reached out to me and let me know that he did not intend to play. That was by way of a text. And I thanked him for his courtesy in letting me know. I told him that we certainly appreciated that and told him that I was certainly willing to discuss that further with him if he’d like. And he thanked me and we had a very cordial exchange."
Mickelson was like numerous Masters invitees who take advantage of the perk that allows them to play practice rounds at the course.
He was curious to see the changes at the par-5 13th and said that wet conditions made it difficult for him to fully assess how they will impact the hole.
“I couldn’t reach it (in two) because I couldn’t far enough past the trees," Mickelson said of a longer tee shot which has been extended by as much as 35 yards. “You just hit it straight and then you have that hanging (lie) second shot and you have about 215 (yards) to 220 to the front, so about 242 to 245 to the hole.
“What probably went unnoticed is left of the green is not as severe. So if you do over miss it a little left, up and down is not as difficult as previously. It’s still hard, but it’s not like it used to be."
Asked if he felt the changes to the hole were good, Mickelson said: “Everybody’s got to play it but I don’t know yet. It was very wet when we played. I think it could be great to have a harder shot second, that it was designed to have. If it’s drier, and the ball goes a little farther, we might be able to get there."
In the 10 LIV events Mickelson has played, he has a single top-10 finish, eighth at the Chicago event last September. He was T27 and T30 in two starts this year. Having missed the cut at the Saudi International tournament in February, Mickelson has played just eight competitive rounds this year and will go to the Masters next week having played just 11.
Mickelson has dropped to 395th in the Official World Golf Ranking, as he is not earning world ranking points in LIV events. He missed the cut in the two major championships he played last year and has not earned any world ranking points since the Saudi International, where he tied for 18th in February 2022. At the time, he was ranked 38th in the world.