Many golfers go through their entire life hoping to achieve a hole-in-one, but, according to a media guide released to coincide with the new LIV Golf League season, it's not nearly as much of a rarity for Hy Flyers GC captain Phil Mickelson.
Of course, Mickelson is no ordinary player, with six Major titles among 57 professional wins, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he has had his fair share of aces. However, in a Q&A for the guide, the 53-year-old revealed he’s achieved the feat a staggering 47 times.
Before signing for LIV Golf, just five of those had come on the PGA Tour, but the total number of aces can come from any level of performance, including practice rounds. Still, that number is huge even compared against arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen, 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, who has 20 holes-in-one, including three on the PGA Tour.
The five best-known Mickelson aces came during an 11-year period, starting with the 1994 Kemper Open. The year after, he found the hole off the tee again at the Shell Houston Open, before proving he is a man for the big occasion with another at that year’s Players Championship before a fourth ace at the 2001 US Open. His most recent on the PGA Tour came at the 2005 Lumber Classic.
That leaves him high on the list of players with the most holes-in-one on the PGA Tour since it started tracking data in 1983, with only 14 achieving more.
So far, there have been five LIV Golf aces, with the most recent coming from another player in his 50s, Richard Bland, who made a hole-in-one the day after his 51st birthday at last week’s LIV Golf Mayakoba event, but Mickelson is yet to make the list.
He has largely struggled to find his best form since becoming a LIV golfer, and that continued in Mexico, with a finish of T51 at El Camaleon Golf Club that came after coming 39th in the individual standings in both the inaugural season and 2023.
Despite that, he remains a gifted performer with the ability to produce something out of the ordinary at any moment. Perhaps an ace would be the perfect way for him to kickstart his LIV Golf career and recover his best form. Given how many he has so far, it would probably be unwise to put it past him.
