Mickelson wastes no time getting back on course
Phil Mickelson’s lethargic 2016-17 season ended with a rousing finish in The Presidents Cup, where as a captain’s pick he went 3-0-1 in the USA’s rout of the Internationals.
So he didn’t want to wait to get his 26th season underway.
Four days after the USA completed its rout at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, Mickelson will tee off Thursday in the PGA Tour’s 2017-18 season opener at the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort and Spa North in Napa, Calif. While he had just five top-10 finishes in 22 starts last season, he hasn’t won since he captured his fifth major championship in the 2013 British Open. At 47, Mickelson is adamant good golf is ahead of him.
“I feel like I’m actually really excited to play, because I’ve been playing well,” said Mickelson, who finished in a tie for eighth in last year’s Safeway Open. “I’m excited to get back into competition. I think that I’m going to have a good chance. My game is back to where I’ve been wanting it to be. So I have an opportunity to start the new season with a little bit of momentum.”
He had no momentum — and little energy and focus — when he missed the cut in the British Open and the PGA Championship. He acknowledged that his mental focus and energy level had been inadequate for much of the year, which led him to meet with the doctor who helped him with arthritis issues a few years ago. Without saying if he was taking any medication, Mickelson, under the stress of getting on The Presidents Cup team, started to perk up.
His tie for sixth in the Dell Technologies Championship — the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs — solidified Steve Stricker’s decision to use one of his two captain’s picks on Mickelson. After he finished in a tie for
20th in the BMW Championship, the third event of the Playoffs, Mickelson was one of the best players in The Presidents Cup.
“I love the challenge of competing,” said Mickelson, who has won 11 of his 42 Tour titles in his home state of California. “I don’t care what it is, I just love to compete. I love the opportunity to play against the best, I love the opportunity and the challenge of trying to win and get my game back to the level I know it can be.”
“I don’t care what it is, I just love to compete. I love the opportunity to play against the best.”
Phil Mickelson, on being one of the top players in The Presidents Cup
Chip-ins: Sangmoon Bae, 31, returns to the PGA Tour this week after two years of mandatory military service in South Korea. The 2013 winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson and the 2014 Safeway Open champion had five top-10s in and played in The Presidents Cup in 2015 before beginning his service. Bae is one of four international win- ners of the Safeway Open, joining Canadian Mike Weir in 2007, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt in 2012 and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo in 2015. ...
Former world No. 1 amateur Maverick McNealy, 21, makes his debut as a professional. As an amateur, McNealy made eight starts on the PGA Tour. The Stanford graduate won 11 times for the Cardinal, tying the record for school victories with Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers.
“The best thing I ever did for a professional career was stay amateur and finish out my degree,” McNealy said. “My freshman year I never thought I would be good enough to play professional golf. It wasn’t until sometime in 2017 that I decided this is what I wanted to do for my living and started preparing for that. ...
“It’s funny, I almost feel like I’m starting college all over again, because these next six months are crucial for where I start, but looking forward to a long career. It’s hard to have any expectations, because I really don’t know. Golf ’s a funny game. You can miss four cuts in a row and win the next week. So I think it really comes down to being patient and sticking to my process and doing what I know works.
“Who knows how it’s going to go, but I’m really excited to see.”