Less than 10 months ago, Phil Mickelson stood in a golden light as the sea breeze blew off the Atlantic Ocean and thousands of fans, many of whom had walked with him down the 18th fairway, chanted his name as he completed the unlikeliest victory of his career, winning the PGA Championship as a 50-year-old.
It was Phil at his finest, having summoned a performance on Kiawah’s Ocean Course no one saw coming, using all of his guile, guts and gumption to pull off a stunning major-championship victory that added another ray of color to the prism of his exceptional career.
Now, Mickelson is missing the Masters – his favorite event – either by choice, circumstance or suggestion, take your pick. All may be at least partially correct.
The Masters tournament is not in the habit of publicly announcing something such as Mickelson’s move from the list of active competitors to “past champions not competing,” but that shift, which the tournament confirmed Monday, did more than leave a gap between Rory McIlroy and Guido Migliozzi on the competitors’ list.
It was the most searing reminder yet of where Mickelson finds himself these days, sorting through what feels like the wreckage of both his career and his life after his incendiary remarks about both the PGA Tour and the new LIV Golf Investments initiatives.
No official reason was given for why Mickelson won’t tee it up at Augusta in two weeks (don’t expect him to show up for the Tuesday night champions dinner either), but it’s no secret he is in the midst of a storm of his own creation.
Did Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley call Mickelson and suggest to him that it would be in everyone’s best interest if he took this year off? It’s possible, particularly if Mickelson is suspended from the PGA Tour or facing an eventual suspension once he talks with commissioner Jay Monahan (which had not happened as of last week). We’re not likely to get much clarity either way on the suspension question.
If Mickelson were to play at the Masters (which is run by Augusta National rather than the PGA Tour, which co-sanctions the event) his presence would create a firestorm of reaction, particularly when he addressed the media for the first time, given the chain reaction of sponsor defections and headshaking reactions provoked by his comments about the PGA Tour’s “greed” and the Saudis’ political intolerance.
But Mickelson is a three-time champion at Augusta National, a place where they honor the winners for a lifetime. Tiger Woods made a difficult return to the public stage there after his own troubles in 2010 and eventually everyone moved on, but only after chairman Billy Payne publicly rebuked Woods in a heavy-handed manner.
It will be 2023 before Mickelson returns.
There is still much we don’t know about Mickelson’s situation. In his public apology last month, he said he needed time away to sort through all that has happened, to prioritize his family and to work on “being the man I want to be.”
Fairly or not, Mickelson has been shadowed by questions about his gambling and his finances. Part of it is the burden of being such a public figure and part of it is his personality, which has fed his image as a big-spending, roll-the-dice kind of guy.
A swirl of speculation has followed Mickelson since his current situation erupted last month. There are two upcoming books – one specifically about Mickelson by writer Alan Shipnuck and another about gambler Billy Walters – that may reflect poorly on the golfer.
Fairly or not, Mickelson has been shadowed by questions about his gambling and his finances. Part of it is the burden of being such a public figure and part of it is his personality, which has fed his image as a big-spending, roll-the-dice kind of guy.
There are, no doubt, professional fences to mend and likely personal ones as well.
Some have asked why Mickelson is being treated so harshly given his criticism of the Saudi government and its human-rights violations.
It’s not so much that – though Mickelson’s comments deeply wounded the Greg Norman-run effort and did not land well in Riyadh, apparently, which is trying to sportswash its brutal image – but his angry takedown of the PGA Tour as well. He was sharply critical of Monahan, said the tour isn’t sharing enough of its wealth and admitted to funding lawyers who were working with the rival group.
He managed to stand on a bridge and set both ends on fire simultaneously.
Mickelson will eventually come back from this and when he does, he needs to show true contrition. If he chooses to cast his playing future with the LIV Golf group, that’s his choice. The money is immense, it’s new and he can have a part in something that could potentially change the professional game. That would be the more daring choice, but Mickelson has always been daring.
He and the PGA Tour have enhanced each other. He has been beloved by fans for the better part of three decades and while many may be disillusioned now, he probably hasn’t lost them.
Every April, Mickelson talks about the feeling he gets when he rolls down Magnolia Lane during Masters week. It’s a place that lifts him emotionally, and it’s a place where it’s reasonable to think he can compete for a few more years, much like Fred Couples did into his 50s.
Mickelson won’t be making that drive this year for the first time since 1994. It’s the right decision, but the Masters won’t feel quite as full without him.