Phil Mickelson insists he is ‘on the verge of bursting into tears’ after shooting down the leaderboard at The Masters…
On his return to Augusta National Golf Club, Phil Mickelson reminded everyone that he still knows the course well, as the 52-year-old finished the day at four under par to finish tied for tenth.
The LIV Golfer shocked the field with his spectacular play as he managed to beat reigning champion Scottie Scheffler and vocal LIV critic Rory McIlroy – who ultimately missed the cut.
After leaving the 2022 Masters “to spend time with his family,” Mickelson joined LIV Golf in June and became one of the PGA Tour’s first defectors.
On his return to Augusta – a course where he won twice – he said he played good golf and could possibly get better.
“I’m about to burst into tears,” Mickelson said. “While the scores haven’t shown it, like I’m taking so many good shots, I’ll be having a really low one soon.
Phil Mickelson has shocked the field at Augusta National by working his way into the top ten
Dressed in LIV Golf gear, Mickelson shot three under today to go four under for the tournament
“When that happens and it clicks, the game feels easy again. Then I don’t put any pressure on myself anymore and the scores start falling into place.’
Even with his great performance on Friday, Mickelson felt he hit the ball better on Thursday – despite his second round score (-3) being higher than his first round score (-1). Nevertheless, Mickelson hit nine greens and eleven of fourteen fairways on Friday.
“I actually didn’t hit it nearly as well as I did yesterday,” said Mickelson. “But I scored well. I went up and down, made a lot of good putts.
With one exception, a bad chip on 6, I had a lot of good saves around the green, bunker shots, good 6-footers and scoring. That’s what I had to do yesterday, and I could have gone very low.”
Of LIV’s 17 golfers competing in the Masters, seven are expected to miss the cut – including former winners Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson.
Meanwhile, Mickelson is joined by Joaquin Niemann and Patrick Reed in the top ten, while Brooks Koepka leads the field at 12-under-par – three shots ahead of Jon Rahm before play was interrupted.
Mickelson’s playing partner, Si Woo Kim, fooled Mickelson by playing in a PGA Tour shirt
Mickelson & LIV Golf have done well so far at the Masters with 10 players ready to make the cut
Other LIV golfers in the top 30 include Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Abaham Ancer.
The return to Augusta seemed to calm Mickelson after a 14-month stint in which he played golf poorly, made a major career switch and evaded the press following his controversial comments about Saudi human rights abuses and the PGA Tour.
“I would use the word more spiritual because if you like golf, it’s more of a spiritual experience when you come here, where you feel this appreciation for this great game and the gratitude you have,” Mickelson said.
“Then this tournament, this course gives everyone something to strive for. If you are a kid and you dream of playing in the Masters and you want to win it, you have something to strive for. It did for me.’