The Masters: Mickelson hopes Sunday success will 'catapult' him to a big year

By Sports Desk April 09, 2023

Phil Mickelson was not surprised by Jon Rahm's success at the Masters, and believes his own strong performance on Sunday was an indicator of how close he remains to the top echelon.

Mickelson shot rounds of 71, 69 and 75 before closing with a stunning seven-under 65 to catapult up to a tie for second at eight-under overall. 

He finished his tournament with five birdies from his last seven holes, capping off the best round of the day in what was Mickelson's best outing since winning the 2021 PGA Championship.

The 52-year-old felt a performance like this was not out of reach due to the way he had been hitting the ball this year.

When asked if Sunday was the beginning of a return to top form, he said: "I'm hopeful that's the case.

"I feel like it was evident to me that I was hitting a lot of good shots, that I was playing well, but I wasn't getting the score out of it. 

"Today was a great day for me to stay present and just keep hitting good shots. Even after I might have had a mess-up here or there, I was able to stay present, keep hitting good shots.

"I'm hopeful that this kind of catapults me into playing the rest of the year the way I believe I'm playing. I really worked hard in the off-season to get ready. 

"I've been shooting some really low scores at home, and today I kind of let it happen rather than trying to force it, and I had a really good day and made some noise.

"Unfortunately it wasn't enough, but it was really a lot of fun for me to play at this level again, and it's encouraging for me going forward the rest of the year."

The six-time major champion said: "It's been a while since I've been able to focus the way I want to" due to off-course distractions, but highlighted how privileged he feels to still be able to perform on such a big stage with perfect health.

"I think it's not so much what I learned [about myself], but I certainly have a lot of gratitude to be able to be here, be part of this tournament, play well, play good golf and take advantage of a unique opportunity that I have.

"Which is to play golf at a very high level at a later stage in life, given that I have not had any physical injuries and I'm able to swing the club the way I want to and, with a little bit of work and dedication, to compete against some of the best players in the world on some of the biggest stages. That's really what's driving me, and today was a very encouraging day."

Turning his attention to the winner, Mickelson spoke about his long-standing relationship with Rahm, and recalled the now 28-year-old beating him on the course as a college student.

"My brother, Tim, was his college coach for four years at Arizona State," he said. "First time I played with him we played Whisper Rock, and he shot 62. I thought I played pretty good, and he gave me a pretty good beat-down.

"So I am not surprised at his success. I mean, it was obvious to me at a very young age that he was one of the best players in the world even while he was in college. To see him on this stage is not surprising for anybody.

"It's hard not to pull for Jon, too. He's such a good guy. He has such a great heart and treats people so well. I think the world of him as a person, and as a player, that's obvious how good he is."

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    Winning any event on the PGA Tour is difficult, but Scheffler has claimed two of the biggest in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, a major championship at Augusta National and the RBC Heritage, which boasted a stronger than usual field after being elevated to a Signature Event this season. Victory at Sawgrass made Scheffler the first player ever to win back-to-back Players titles. His only “failure” was a tie for second in the Houston Open.

    Has this been done before?

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    How much has Scheffler earned?

    Scheffler has banked an average of £3.17million for each of his four victories and “only” £448,000 for his five-way tie for second behind Stephan Jaeger in the Houston Open. The total sum of £13.14m would place Scheffler 145th on the PGA Tour’s career earnings list and he is closing in on the single-season record of £17million he set last year. In comparison, Woods won nine times on the PGA Tour in 2000, including three major titles, and never finished worse than 23rd in 20 starts. His prize money totalled £7.4m.

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    In a word, yes. Ahead of the Genesis Invitational in mid-February, Rory McIlroy could have become world number one by winning at Riviera with Scheffler finishing third or worse. Now, Scheffler has more than double the total and average points of McIlroy, while the average points gap between the top two (7.6493) is bigger than that between McIlroy and the players tied for 4,123st in the standings.

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    “I was able to go home for a couple days and celebrate,” Scheffler said.

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    “I do have fairly high expectations for myself and when I show up at tournaments, I try to do my best.

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    “I just did my best to stay patient and wait until I got hot.

    “Had a nice finish to the round on Thursday and then had a really solid Friday where I felt like I played better than I scored, and then I had Saturday where I just played some really good golf.”

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    A storm stopped play for two and a half hours with darkness forcing a finish on Monday.

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