AUGUSTA, Ga. — Just as the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals were ending Sunday at Augusta National, Phil Mickelson took to the practice ground to begin a marathon putt, iron and drive session of his own.
For nearly three hours, Mickelson spent time sending golf ball after golf ball toward the horizon on the pristine practice range. He also spent more than 90 minutes on the putting green. Then he played a 9-hole practice round.
Mickelson has hit so many balls since arriving for his 29th Masters appearance that he showed up for his Tuesday meeting with the media with a heavily bandaged left index finger.
“I had some work to do to make sure that I had the setup in the bag that I wanted and that when I practiced this week, that I was working with the right clubs; that I wasn’t searching for things, that everything was dialed in,” Mickelson said. “I thought it went well. I feel like I’m playing well. I’ve got some good things going.
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“I’ve made progress, but I haven’t played at the level I expect to recently. I actually enjoy the challenge of getting my game back because there’s really nothing physically holding me back from playing at the highest level, but mentally I’ve got to be sharper. And I’m working on that.”
Mickelson, who turns 51 in less than two months, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame nine years ago. But the winner of 44 PGA Tour titles – his most recent coming in the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – still thinks he can add to that total despite his recent struggles.
He racked up two wins on the PGA Tour Champions in 2020 but had just three top-10 finishes in 17 starts on the PGA Tour. This year, he hasn’t been better than a tie for 25th in six PGA Tour starts and missed the cut three times.
His most recent of five major triumphs came in the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield. His three Masters wins came in 2004, 2006 and 2010. He tied for second in 2015 when Jordan Spieth sped away from the field but has missed one cut and finished in ties for 22nd, 36th, 18th and 55th in his last five starts here.
“I’ve seen a lot of progress in my game without a lot of results,” he said. “The difficulty is when you’re on a plateau and you’re not really making advancements and you’re putting in the work and putting in the work and you’re not seeing the results, to stay consistent and to stay committed.
“As I continue to do that, I need some results to keep my motivated to compete against the best players. Otherwise I really enjoy the Champions tour.”
Mickelson gave no hint how soon he has to see results competing against the best players in the world before the Champions Tour becomes his first pursuit. But hearing Mickelson talk about playing more with the elder set indicates it might not be long unless those results on the PGA Tour start arriving.
“I enjoy having pins that are five (paces) from the edge and not 2 1/2 or three, and I enjoy having a chance to short-side yourself and still get up-and-down,” he said. “And I enjoy having 15 feet around the hole where you can have an aggressive putt and not having the pin on a fall-off ledge like three feet from it like we seem to have every week. And I enjoy being able to play more aggressive.
“I’m having fun, a lot more fun than I thought on the Champions Tour, but yet the challenge that gets the best out of me is trying to play and compete against the best players. It’s what gets me motivated to be in the gym and to try to be physically able to swing fast enough to compete against these guys, and to be strong enough in my core to be able to practice as much as I need to and hit balls, like you said, on Sunday for hours and still be fine and able to do that.
“That’s what drives me and motivates me.”