Phil Mickelson sensationally clinched the clubhouse lead late on Sunday at the Masters, producing his lowest ever final round at Augusta to leave the golf world stunned.
Six-time major winner and three-time Masters champion Mickelson, trying to break his own major age win mark at 52, birdied the par-3 12th, par-5 13th and 15th and par-4 17 and 18 to card a 65 to sit at eight under for the tournament. He was equal second, two behind Jon Rahm who was midway through his final round.
Watch every round of the PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive on Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
MASTERS FINAL ROUND LIVE COVERAGE
TREE FALLS at Masters in scary scenes! | 00:18
Mickelson became the oldest player ever to shoot 66 or better at the event but the performance was remarkable in more ways than one for a man who has been the controversial face of the rebel LIV Golf league, and derided by peers and fans in recent years.
Mickelson has shown little form of late to suggest something like this was possible at Augusta.
However the American insisted after the second round he was close to something special..
“I’m close to going on a tear. Even though the scores haven’t shown it, I’m hitting so many good shots, pretty soon I’m going to have a really low one,” he said after ending his round with a birdie on the par-4 18th.
“When that happens and it clicks, then the game feels easy again. Then I stop putting pressure on myself, and the scores just start to fall into place.” Six-time major winner Mickelson, who now plays in the breakaway LIV Golf League, said he is convinced that his showing so far at Augusta is much more than just a brief hint of his old glory days, when he battled with Tiger Woods at the pinnacle of the sport.
“You wouldn’t think that at 52. You’d say, ‘Oh, well, what a great couple of days, really all it is,’” he said.
“It’s just on the precipice of playing as well as I played 15, 20 years ago because I’m seeing that when I’m at home, I’m seeing that in practice. I’m just not quite letting it happen when I’m out in the tournaments yet.” Mickelson said the breakthrough he expects could even happy on golf’s biggest stage this weekend.
“It’s possible. Who knows when it will click.”
The most visible change to Mickelson has been his weight, with the American cutting a much slimmer figure at Augusta.
The three-time Masters champion said playing on his Hy Flyers GC in the LIV Golf League has motivated him to make changes to prolong his career.
“I want to give myself a chance to play for a few years and experience a new format and something new and exciting and be with teammates. So I’m having fun, and if I’m not in shape, I can’t do it,” he said.
“I lost 25 pounds (11.33 kg). I also lost muscle, so I had to start lifting, and I’ve been lifting and slowly have been getting my speed and strength back to where I need it to be,” he said, noting that the better conditioning of the modern player meant he had no choice but to shed the pounds.
“I’m just going to keep it going this year and continue down that path because, if you watch some of these guys out here today, how far and how fast they’re able to swing the club, it’s really amazing,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean that they’re going to win. You still have to hit the shots and manage your way around the game, manage your game around the course, but I’ve got to be in shape to be able to have a speed that allows me to compete
