Phil Mickelson has outlined his plan to return to the “highest level” of men’s professional golf, after three disappointing seasons on the LIV Golf circuit.
Mickelson became a trailblazer when committing his loyalties to the LIV setup in 2022, as the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau followed in his footsteps. Despite this, the former PGA Tour star has failed to find the form that made him one of the sport’s greatest players since the switch.
In three campaigns with the Saudi-backed league, Mickelson has failed to finish higher than 34th in the season-long standings and is yet to become a champion on the LIV tour.
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After a tough 2022 and 2023, Mickelson’s struggles continued last year, after the HyFlyers captain finished the campaign 46th in the standings, securing just one top-10 finish. In spite of his problems on the golf course, Mickelson has outlined his plans to bounce back in 2025.
Appearing on the Bryan Bros YouTube channel, the six-time major winner said: “I have not played the way I want to the last couple of years. Having four months off and being able to develop a game plan, I have been able to get to a point where I believe I can at the level I played at in my 30s.
“I don’t know if that is going to be the case. We are going to see heading into this year, but I am going to really make a push to compete at the highest level. That means fine-tuning all aspects of my game. Including my driving, speed, putting all of that. Getting my short game back to the highest level, so I think I could do something special.”
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Phil Mickelson struggled in 2024 (
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Mickelson will know he will need to make a huge leap if he is to return to his former self, with the 54-year-old closer to the end of his playing days than the start. Amid his decline, the veteran star has admitted he would be willing to step aside from his HyFlyers team if his current run goes on.
“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,” Mickelson said last season.
“I’m in every major on the regular tour next year, and I’ll be in three of the four majors for the next six, seven years. I would love to compete and give myself a chance to win in those, and I also want to build this out and create a culture that is sustainable and that people strive to be a part of.
“How I do that, whether it’s internally as a player and so forth, or whether it’s strictly from the outside, I’m going to be intricately involved with the HyFlyers going forward probably the rest of my life, and then my playing career I’ll be realistic where I’m at, too.”
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