Phil Mickelson Enjoys Big Ego-Boost at Scottie Scheffler’s Expense While Silencing Critics With Just One Word

Phil Mickelson is arguably one of the greatest golfers. Or at least he was when he was on the PGA Tour. According to a recent post shared by Golf Digest’s Jammie Kennedy, Lefty has had quite some stats: played in 666 events on the Tour; managed to win forty-five times; finished in the top 3 111 times. His total career earnings from the PGA Tour was a whopping $96,685,635. These are impressive numbers!

While, when combining the numbers of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, and Scottie Scheffler, that is when his total number of starts matches. All accumulated together, they have a total of 666 starts, out of which, there are forty-five victories. Their collective top 3 finishes are also one less as compared to that of Lefty. It is a 110. Now, the thing is despite his accomplishments on the Tour, Lefty has won no events ever since he joined LIV Golf. This made the netizens question the comparison, calling it“dumb.”

Scottie Scheffler is just 28-years-old, and Viktor Hovland is 27-years-old. Brooks Koepka and JT are in their thirties, and they have already accomplished a lot. So the golf community believes that by the time they have stayed as long as Mickelson in the golf community, the statistics will be a lot different. They might end up surpassing the HyFlyers GC Captain. Despite all the criticism the post got, one thing is for sure. Lefty did get a boost of confidence from the comparison, as he commented with a smirk on the post. He commented, “😉”.

In 2022, Phil Mickelson was the one leading the LIV Golf ship as he turned away from the PGA Tour and joined the breakaway circuit. Through many controversies, Lefty has finally found stable ground, but it seems that he might be bidding goodbye to his professional career soon. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the 54-year-old hesitated to reveal it, but he said, “My career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”Now, a year after the tête-à-tête, Mickelson’s retirement announcement might come sooner than expected. Will it be by the end of 2024? Hopefully not.

Because when Mickelson joined the disruptive league two years ago for a reported $220 million, his contract was assumed to run till 2025. That means he will probably play one more full season on LIV Golf. But since his performance has been on a decline. He missed two of the four major cuts this year and has only had three top-10 finishes in the last three years on LIV Golf. Lefty hinted that he may hang up his cleats soon. At the press conference before the LIV Golf Chicago,the 6-time major winner said, “I see glimpses and my teammates see glimpses of me being where I expect to be able to compete at this level, but I’m also realistic with myself, and if I’m not able to, I’ll step aside and let somebody come on in and take the HyFlyers to new levels.”

However, Mickelson explained that since he has equity in the HyFylers GC, even replacing himself on the team would not mean that he would part ways with his team. He added that he wanted to build LIV Golf and make it sustainable for other players, but he wasn’t sure if he would do it internally as a golfer or from the outside. Regardless, his commitment to HyFlyers and LIV would be long-term, even after his retirement. Interestingly, Mickelson didn’t hint that he would stop playing in the majors.

Lefty has lifetime qualification for the Masters since he won it in 2004, 2006, and 2010, and the PGA Championship after winning it in 2005 and 2021. He can play in The Open till he turns 60, courtesy of his 2003 Claret Jug victory. But as for the US Open, he can play in the 2025 edition only because of his 2021 PGA Championship win (5-year exemption), and after that, he would probably need an exemption.

As it seems, Lefty has accepted that he will retire soon. But what will he do afterward? Will Mickelson go completely offline and only be seen at LIV Golf’s event cheering for his team, or does he have something else in plan? It is surprisingly the latter.