The will he or won’t he question surrounding Phil Mickelson’s participation in the PGA Championship next week at Southern Hills remains unanswered.
Will Mickelson and/or the PGA of America make an announcement this week?
No one is saying, at least not yet.
On the 5 Clubs podcast with host Gary Williams recently, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said he’s talked with Mickelson about next week but indicated no decision has been made.
Mickelson, the defending PGA champion, hasn’t played since late January after stepping away from the game following controversial comments he made regarding the PGA Tour and the new LIV Golf series that begins next month.
“I think he’s trying to figure out when the right time for him is. I think the game is trying to figure out the right time for him, too. How long is long enough? And is he ready mentally and physically to do it?” Waugh said on the podcast.
“I think part of (Mickelson’s) thinking is, ‘Am I ready to face that glare and have that conversion and have all the answers that everybody is going to be looking for? And if I do it that week, am I then able to compete on a major championship venue under that kind of pressure, with everything going on?’” – Seth Waugh
Since offering an apology in February for his comments to author Alan Shipnuck, Mickelson has stayed out of public view. Returning at the PGA Championship potentially would overshadow the event, at least early in the week.
Waugh said if Mickelson does play, he hopes Mickelson can address the media either later this week or early next week.
“What we’re trying to do is deliver a major championship, not a circus,” Waugh said. “So I would hope that he can avoid that, and everybody can avoid that. And we’re talking about golf shots instead of verbal gaffes once we get going.
“I think part of his thinking is, ‘Am I ready to face that glare and have that conversion and have all the answers that everybody is going to be looking for? And if I do it that week, am I then able to compete on a major championship venue under that kind of pressure, with everything going on?’”
It’s also unclear whether Mickelson intends to play the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event near London in early June. If he doesn’t play the PGA Championship, would he return to competitive golf playing an event in the new series intent on challenging the PGA Tour’s status quo?
Maxing Out
The evolution of Max Homa from a guy headed down a dead-end road to being a genuine force in the professional game may be as interesting as Homa himself.
The pro game is littered with the carcasses of talented players who reached the PGA Tour, only to flame out, their careers undone by poor fundamentals, self-doubt, a lousy short game or just not being good enough.
Homa was there, making just two cuts in 17 starts in 2017, winning just over $18,000 and looking like another guy headed into another line of work. Now, he’s a four-time Tour winner, with three victories since Jan. 1, 2021.
Only Viktor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay have more victories in that time.
What changed?
“But I saw $18,000 in a year out here. I was feeling very, very small, having literally no hope as to getting a top-10, let alone making a cut that season.” – Max Homa
More than anything, self-belief. He trusted his team, which includes swing coach Mark Blackburn and caddie Joe Greiner. And Homa applied himself, following a path they laid out.
Rather than bury his past, Homa has used it as a source of growth.
“It would be cool if I was Rory McIlroy and didn’t do that, but for me it’s something I carry with me that … it’s powerful,” Homa said Sunday after winning the Wells Fargo Championship.
“I feel like other guys don’t have that, and that’s good for them; I’m glad they don’t. But I saw $18,000 in a year out here. I was feeling very, very small, having literally no hope as to getting a top-10, let alone making a cut that season.”
When Homa saw a three-stroke lead evaporate more than once on Sunday, he didn’t panic.
“(It) doesn’t faze me as much as I feel like it could because I know what bad is, and my bad today was going to be making a boatload of money and moving along to the PGA Championship in two weeks with a good chance to win if I keep playing like this. I think that’s something I carry close to my chest because I think it’s something that as much as nobody will want to have it, it’s nice to have if you get through that tough time.”
Max Homa being Max Homa ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wwtb949dwk
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 9, 2022
Homa is now a career-high 29th in the world ranking and sixth in Presidents Cup points, edging toward his goal of making the United States team that will play the International squad in September.
From where he was five years ago to where he is today, Homa has grown into one of the PGA Tour’s most consistent ball-strikers, and a recent change to his putting routine – going to the AimPoint system – led to one of the best putting weeks of his career at the Wells Fargo.
“As I started to establish myself on this tour when I won (the Wells Fargo Championship) in 2019, I definitely knew I was capable of being a regular PGA Tour player, but all of a sudden last year I get in the top-50 in the world, and you start looking around and it’s a new crop of people and you start thinking to myself, ‘Am I as good as these guys?’ ” Homa said.
“And then I want to be top-10 in the world, play the Presidents Cup, play Ryder Cups. Am I good enough to do that? So I’ve always struggled with it, but I have great people around me who bash me over the head telling me that I am that guy. I tried to walk around (last) week believing that and faking it a little bit until I made it.”