A highly disciplined Phil Mickelson surprising everyone with stellar run at Masters so far

Phil Mickelson has defied expectations with his first two rounds at The Masters, posting a -4 and placing him in the Top 10 heading into Saturday.

Expectations weren’t very high for Phil Mickelson who showed up for this year’s Masters in Augusta. He hadn’t really impressed with his performance on the LIV Tour this year, with a Top 27 and one-under being his best placements on the controversial tour in 2023.

The six-time major winner skipped the event at Augusta National last year due to his self-imposed hiatus after his Saudi Arabian comments caused quite a stir. A ban from the PGA followed after he joined the renegade LIV Tour. The stress of it all seemed to be affecting his game. Also considering that he’s one of the oldest competitors in the field in Augusta, Mickelson wasn’t on anyone’s radar to contend this year.

All the talk heading into the first round of The Masters was about the three-way race that’s defined the OWGR No. 1 contest all season long between Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler. By the second round, McIlroy’s +5 will guarantee he’s cut by Sat while Scheffler’s -1 underwhelmed, putting him in the Top 29 heading into “moving day.”

Phil Mickelson has been quietly creeping up The Masters leaderboard

A slimmed-down, focused ‘Lefty’ showed up in Augusta to make the most of his chances. It’s clear that Phil Mickelson’s game has come alive at Augusta National, a landscape where he’s not only donned the green jacket three times, but also placed in the Top 10 twelve times. Half of Mickelson’s majors come from The Masters and the ease of the greens have settled in nicely once more for the 52-year-old.

“I’m close to going on a tear,” Mickelson said, according to ESPN. “Even though the scores haven’t shown it, like I’m hitting so many good shots, pretty soon I’m going to have a really low one. When that happens and it clicks, then the game feels easy again. Then I stop putting pressure on myself, and the scores just start to fall into place.”

The day wasn’t without its challenges for the 45-PGA Tour winner, getting holed up against a tree where he was forced to hit right-handed out of a precarious situation.

Mickelson’s also doing unorthodox things with his driver on the pinestraw off the fairway… and making it work!

“I was just trying to chop a little driver, hit a low running cut by the bunkers. It caught one of those limbs and shot left,” Mickelson explained, via golf.com. “But it was still a birdie.”

The legendary golfer—who holds the record for oldest major winner with the PGA Championship in 2021—missed playing at Augusta National, but is thriving in the environment now that he’s back.

“I would use the word more spiritual because, if you love golf, when you come here, it’s more of a spiritual experience, where you feel this appreciation for this great game and the gratitude that you have,” Mickelson said. “Then this tournament, this course gives something for everybody to aspire to. If you’re a kid and you’re dreaming of playing in the Masters and you want to win it, it gives you something to aspire to. It did for me.”

Whatever happens with the PGAT-DP World-LIV Golf fallout, having all of the competitive players in one field is good for the game. For the love of golf, I hope they can sort out the mess. Whatever you think of him, having Phil Mickelson back at his best is good for the sport. And it sure is fun to watch.

Round three of The 2023 Masters continues Saturday, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Let’s hope the weather holds out.