Phil Mickelson Has Best LIV Golf Finish, Says Building Toward ‘Winning Another Major’

As Sergio Garcia won LIV Hong Kong with an eye on the Ryder Cup, Phil Mickelson saw his offseason work pay off as he looks forward to the Masters.

Phil Mickelson's solo third-place finish in LIV Hong Kong was his best result in four years on the rival circuit. / Jack Gruber-Imagn Images

LIV Hong Kong felt like a blast from the past. 

As Sergio Garcia won his second LIV event, fellow Masters champion Phil Mickelson finished solo third at the 6,711-yard Hong Kong Golf Club with a score of 14 under for his best finish on the rival circuit since joining it in 2022. 

MORE: Final results, payouts from LIV Golf Hong Kong

“It is, but it didn't feel hard,” Mickelson said afterward. “It felt easy. I probably led the field in fairways hit. I haven’t seen the stats, but I’d be surprised if anybody hit more than I did. My game is getting sharp. My short game is back. I had a rough couple of years. My short game is really sharp now. My iron play is back, and my game is starting to really come around.”

In the last three years Mickelson, a six-time major champion, has recorded only three top 10s on LIV. His results in majors haven’t been much better, except for a runner-up in the 2023 Masters. 

He missed LIV’s 2025 opener with a shoulder injury; however, the 54-year-old had a positive mindset heading into this season—and so far, things are going as planned. 

“I really had a great offseason,” Mickelson said Saturday, “and I figured some things out, and I’m playing a different style of golf. I’ve been playing really well at home, and it’s great to take it here. I didn’t putt well at Adelaide (T23), otherwise I would have contended there as well.”

Phil with a dart at 18 to lock in a Top 3 finish at LIV Golf Hong Kong! pic.twitter.com/o9hm9gj7Iz

— LIV'r & Onions! (@LIVRandONIONS) March 9, 2025

With the Masters less than a month away, the three-time champion he feels he can top his own record of being the oldest major winner ever (he was 50 when he won the 2021 PGA Championship). 

“The fact is I’m hitting a lot of good shots,” he said. “I’m playing some good golf, and this is a building week as I continue to build into LIV and my goal of accomplishing a win in LIV as well as winning another major, getting ready for Augusta.”

Garcia, meanwhile, finished four strokes ahead of Mickelson. And with the victory, the 45-year-old Spaniard has his sights set on the Ryder Cup later this year. 

“I think (European captain Luke Donald is) watching,” Garcia said after the win. “We’ve been in touch, so I know that he’s keeping an eye. The only thing I can do is keep playing good golf, and I just want to help the European team like I’ve tried to do every single time I've been a member of that team, and hopefully, he will think I’m good enough for it.”

It would be a complete shock if Mickelson makes the American squad, but he’ll at least give himself a chance if his game is trending in the direction he claims.

“I’m also playing differently,” Mickelson said. “I’m playing a lot less stressed, and it’s coming.”