It was an eventful week for Phil Mickelson in Hong Kong.
He started it getting into a social-media spat with Fred Couples over comments the latter made on a radio show regarding Brooks Koepka’s alleged interest in leaving LIV Golf. Mickelson eventually deleted his tweet, which called Couples’ comments a “low-class jerk move.”
By Sunday, Mickelson was on the podium for the first time. Lefty had the best finish of his LIV Golf career, placing third at LIV Golf Hong Kong, finishing four shots behind winner Sergio Garcia. It’s the first top-five finish for Mickelson since he moved to LIV Golf, one he said has been a long time coming.
“I really had a great offseason, and I figured some things out, and I’m playing a different style of golf,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been playing really well at home, and it’s great to take it here. I didn’t putt well at Adelaide, otherwise I would have contended there, as well. I played really good golf, and I had about four or five putts – today even – that could have gone lower and been an ultra round low to make a run.”
In addition to his best individual finish, Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC earned their first podium finish, too, tying for third with Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC in the team competition.
“This was a great steppingstone for us as we continue to build, and we had a great opportunity,” Lefty added. “We were up on the leaderboard most of the day, and we fell three shots shy, but we are really starting to hit stride.
“It was great to get on the podium, now it’s like we want to get to the taller one.”
For Mickelson, the solo third was his best worldwide finish since the 2023 Masters, when he shot 7-under 65 on Sunday to finish tied for second with Brooks Koepka. He said it’s the best his game has been in a couple years.
“It didn’t feel hard. It felt easy,” Mickelson said. “I probably led the field in fairways hit. I haven’t seen the stats, but I’d be surprised if anybody hit more than I did. My game is getting sharp. My short game is back. I had a rough couple of years. My short game is really sharp now. My iron play is back, and my game is starting to really come around, and I’m also playing differently. I’m playing a lot less stressed, and it’s coming.”
Does that mean a sign of things to come? The six-time major champion admitted he has lofty goals, but even at 54 years old, he is still craving the biggest prize in golf.
“The fact is I’m hitting a lot of good shots. I’m playing some good golf,” Mickelson said, “and this is a building week as I continue to build into LIV and my goal of accomplishing a win in LIV as well as winning another major, getting ready for Augusta.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Phil Mickelson has best finish of LIV Golf career, wants to win major
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