Mickelson gets nod, fills out U.S. team
Lefty impresses late; Hoffman also joins team as captain’s pick
Phil Mickelson will wear the USA’s colors again.
Mickelson, who has played on every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team since 1994, was one of two at-large selections announced Wednesday by U.S. captain Steve Stricker for the upcoming Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.
While Mickelson will be making his 23rd appearance in a team event, Charley Hoffman, the other captain’s pick, will be making his first when the USA faces the Internationals on Sept. 28- Oct. 1.
Mickelson, a winner of 42 PGA Tour titles including five majors, hasn’t won since the 2013 British Open and finished 15th in the standings, with the top 10 automatically making the team after last week’s Dell Technologies Championship. But the member of the World Golf Hall of Fame finally flashed some form last week, finishing in a tie for sixth. That was enough for Stricker to take him over Brian Harman, Jason Dufner and Gary Woodland, who finished Nos. 12-14. Harman won Wells Fargo and finished second in the U.S. Open, while Dufner won the Memorial.
“It means a lot to me this year because the players and the captains wanted me on the team even though I didn’t get the spot on my own,” Mickelson said. “I really love being around these guys. I respect and know how great these guys are. And this team is a special team.”
Mickelson, 47, acknowledged after the PGA Championship that his mental focus and energy level had been inadequate for much of the year. He said he recently met with a doctor who helped him with arthritis issues a few years ago. Mickelson, without saying if he was taking any medication, said he’s feeling much better.
“I feel like my ball striking has been as good or better than it has ever been the last year, year and a half, but what I haven’t been able to do is get a good picture of the shot. And golf has to be a reactionary sport; I need to see the shot I want to create and let my body to do it,” Mickelson said. “That’s where I have been struggling. But my energy level and my ability to focus has come back. I’m on the right path, and last week was very encouraging.”
It is just the third time Mickelson has needed a captain’s pick, including in 2015 when he went 3-0-1 as the USA won in South Korea. Overall, he is 41-40-19 in his 22 Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team contests.
“Phil brings a wealth of experience to the team,” Stricker said. “He struggled a little bit at the end of the year, but he showed his desire and effort to make the team and he had a great showing in the Dell Technologies Championship. From reports from the players, that was the Phil of old.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Mickelson is a favorite son of New York.
“He’s beloved everywhere he goes, but especially out in New York,” Stricker said. “The crowds will rally behind him.”
Stricker said Hoffman was a “no-brainer” pick. Hoffman, a winner of four PGA Tour titles, has seven top-10s this year, including runner-up finishes in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the RBC Canadian Open. Hoffman was nudged by Kevin Chappell for the 10th spot by 0.073 points.
“There were a few sleepless nights the past week,” Hoffman, 40, said. “I didn’t think it would get to me, but my anxiousness to get on the team hit me. Now it’s finally over, and I’m glad I made my first American team.”
Mickelson and Hoffman join the 10 players who automatically qualified: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed and Chappell.
The USA leads the series 9-1-1, losing only in 1998.
Internationals captain Nick Price selected Emiliano Grillo and Anirban Lahiri. Grillo closed with a 66 in the Dell Technologies Championship to move into the 11th spot in the standings.