TROON, Scotland — Phil Mickelson keeps a mostly low profile these days when he is away from LIV Golf, even at the site of one of his greatest performances, although it was in a runner-up disappointment to Henrik Stenson in 2016.
Mickelson loves Royal Troon and has come to love the British Open, the tournament he shockingly won in 2013 at Muirfield and the event he dueled Stenson in three years later, shooting a first-round 63 and a final-round 65, only to lose by three strokes.
But Mickelson was not brought in front of the assembled media (neither was Stenson) to regale with tales from those days eight years ago. After the first round, I caught up to him for a few minutes following a putting green practice session for a brief question or two before he headed to a waiting car. Nobody else was there to talk to him.
After a birdie-birdie finish on Saturday saw Mickelson finish with a round of 72, he was requested in the media mixed zone and Lefty obliged, spending a few minutes with the assorted media answering questions ranging from his game to his “joggers” and even to a question about Tiger Woods.
That was in reference to the fact that the two long-time protagonists were seen side by side—backs to each other as Phil plays lefthanded—warming up on the driving range earlier in the week.
On Saturday, Mickelson hit his tee shot into the “coffin” bunker that guards the par-3 postage stamp 8th hole and had an awkward stance that caused him to play away from the hole. He trickled the ball out onto the green and two-putted for a bogey.
“That hole is one of the greats,” Mickelson 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.”
He also raved about Royal Troon: “I’ve played this course in all different winds, and it’s like playing the course for the first time. Every time you get a different wind. It’s incredible. It’s just one of the best designs in the world.”
The reason Mickelson is wearing joggers is due to a lost bet to YouTube star Grant Horvath. Mickelson explained the positives of YouTube and how Bryson DeChambeau is using it to his benefit before explaining why he had no problem with the clothing he has to wear as part of the lost bet: “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.”
When the subject turned to Woods, Mickelson was not quite as effusive. It’s no secret that the longtime rivals have not seen eye to eye on the current state of the game. It’s possible they’ve barely spoken, if at all.
He was asked if the two exchanged words on the range: “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.”
Asked if he and Tiger could work out the game’s problems, Mickelson said: “I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see.”
Woods is a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board and part of a transaction committee that is negotiating directly with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which backs LIV Golf. Woods said this week he was happy with how the process is going.
Mickelson said he knows nothing about the status of negotiations.
“Look, I don’t know about that stuff,” he said. “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.”
When asked if Mickelson preferred peace in a way that all were happy about, he paused before saying: “You know, it would be great. It would be great.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Phil Mickelson Offers a Few Thoughts on Joggers, Royal Troon and Tiger Woods.
