TROON, Scotland – It used to be that if you asked Phil Mickelson a question, you were bound to get a lengthy answer of some sort. He loved to expound on a variety of topics and any time he was scheduled to speak to the press you wanted to be there to listen, uncapped pen at the ready knowing you could count on him to fill a notebook and provide snappy quotes and anecdotes that would jump off the page. In short, he was good copy.
But these days, ever since he went to LIV and really dating to the moment he got burned by some of what he believed to be off-the-record remarks being published, Mickelson has gone mute.
He rarely does pre-tournament press conferences anymore, even this week at the return to the site of his famous duel with Henrik Stenson in 2016 he was not one of the players to participate, and he declined to speak to the media after the first two rounds. But on Saturday, after posting a 1-over 72 in the third round of the 152nd British Open, Mickelson agreed to stop and field questions from the media.
He said he enjoyed the round and always loves coming to Troon, a place with fond memories despite coming up short in 2004 and 2016.
He detailed his adventures at the Postage Stamp, where he found The Coffin Bunker and had to contort his legs and aim away from the flag to extricate himself from a dreadful lie.
“That hole is one of the greats,” he said. “I’m trying to make par. I’m not trying to make two. If I make four, I’m not that upset. It’s a hole that you’ve seen it dismantle a bunch of opportunities for players to win, and you just don’t want to make the big number. Bogeys are fine there if it happens, but it’s just one of the great holes in the game.”
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Asked to name where this week’s test ranked among the British Opens he’s played in, he said it was premature to say with another round to go. “I’ve played this course in all different winds, and it’s like playing the course for the first time,” he said. “Every time you get a different wind. It’s incredible. It’s just one of the best designs in the world.”
On the subject of his wearing joggers after losing a bet to YouTube star Grant Horvath, Mickelson waxed on and on about discovering the YouTube audience and over several follow-up questions blathered on about why a 54-year-old man would be wearing joggers again for Sunday’s final round.
“Out here where the wind is blowing and my pants are getting caught on the socks, whatever, they’re not. I really do like them,” he said.
But when the subject shifted to Tiger Woods and PGA Tour and LIV Mickelson suddenly became reticent. Asked if he conversed with Tiger on the range earlier this week when the two greats were set up next to each other, he said, “We said hi. Yeah, we said hi, but we were both preparing. It’s not like we’re going to sit there and chat. But we said hello, yeah.”
Could he and Tiger work out the golf world’s problems?
“I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see,” said Mickelson.
Two timeless competitors.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson warm up next to each other on the range at Royal Troon. pic.twitter.com/p67aAqb4yo
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Asked what he would say if he’d been told a year ago that the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations hadn’t resulted in any changes or resolution yet, he said, “ Look, I don’t know about that stuff. I’m not involved. I’m not sitting in those rooms. I am enjoying where I’m at and what I’m doing and playing. I’ll let other people figure that stuff out. “
Another reporter wondered if Mickelson would prefer their to be peace in the pro golf ranks, “that everybody was happy about it?”
Mickelson paused and considered his words. A man who used to love to hear himself speak said simply, “You know, it would be great. It would be great.”
And with that Mickelson was done engaging, although it’s debatable whether he had ever started at all.