Phil Mickelson is doing great things on the golf scene, despite his advanced years. Joining LIV Golf did not exactly generate positive reactions, just like his appearances on the Saudi-backed Tour. Phil wasn’t that impressive playing at the controversial Tour, but even before the start of the Masters, some are predicting whether Phil will be able to make a big step.
Ryan Lavner, a well-known figure on the golf scene, pointed out that Phil could be a dark horse as a guest on the Golf Channel Podcast. Lavner put special emphasis on some of the performances of the American during this season, showing signs of the form he once had.
Ryan feels that Phil can create a problems for many golfers at this Major.
“I think he absolutely would be a good dark horse. I think you can sort of dismiss what he did earlier this year on LIV. He had a top three finish in Hong Kong, but it was a very tight and short golf course. He wasn’t hitting driver, he was plotting his way around. But he has clearly found something in his game,” he said, as quoted by The Golfing Gazette.
“He is showing finally at this age, you talk about older pitchers who can no longer just throw heat on the outside corner. You have to paint it and pitch differently. I feel like Phil is at this stage of his career where he is not just the swashbuckler any more. He’s like okay, I can try and hit bombs but I really just need to do my best to be middle of the pack at this point. He can still do damage with his wedges and scoring clubs and can still get hot with the putter and obviously his short game skills have never really left him.”
Evolution
Lavner marks this as the evolution of Mickelson, stressing that his latest performance showed that Phil has the potential to succeed, regardless of previous results. Lavner believes that an experienced golfer knows how to play this golf course.
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