Lefty: Mackay will join ‘a great player’

Mickelson’s brother taking caddie duties for rest of season.

Phil Mickelson isn’t sure what’s next for Jim “Bones” Mackay. He is sure there are going to be plenty of options for his longtime caddie.

Mickelson and Mackay said last week they were splitting up after 25 years and more than 600 tournaments around the world, ending one of golf ’s most successful relationships. Mickelson’s brother Tim will caddie for him for the rest of the year, and Lefty said there will be no shortage of suitors for Mackay.

“He’s going to have some incredible opportunities,” Mickelson said Monday in his first public comments since the split. “There’s going to be a great player — a lot of great players, but one great player’s going to be lucky enough to have him. … And then it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my brother for the rest of this year.”

Tim Mickelson was the golf coach at Arizona State before he left the position to become Jon Rahm’s agent, and Phil Mickelson thanked Rahm for approving his brother’s new schedule.

Mickelson, who celebrated his 47th birthday on June 16, and Mackay started working together at a U.S. Open qualifier in Memphis, Tenn., in 1992. Mickelson was hoping to have a final round together at the U.S. Open, but he skipped it to attend his oldest daughter’s high school graduation.

Mackay went to Erin Hills in Wisconsin to scout the course in case a weather delay would have allowed Mickelson to make his tee time, but it didn’t work out. Instead, their last round was in the St. Jude Classic — in Memphis. “We knew that final round in Memphis that that was our last round together — or most likely,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson joined LPGA stars Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis for a skills challenge at Olympia Fields, Ill., Monday ahead of this weekend’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Mickelson and KPMG also announced a donation by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation to the company’s future leaders program, which awards scholarships to young women and brings them to Stanford for a leadership development retreat.

Etc.: So Yeon Ryu took over No. 1 in the women’s rankings with her victory in the NW Arkansas Championship. … John Daly withdrew from the U.S. Senior Open with a shoulder injury.

Phil Mickelson split with his caddie after 25 years.