“Guys are at 190 ball speeds—Bryson, Aldrich Potgieter, and some of these guys are ridiculous. I am not going to overpower and beat them that way, so I have to find another way,” This is what Phil Mickelson was concerned about ahead of the 2025 PGA Championship. The need to adapt his game to overcome the powerful young kids. The best part about it was ‘Lefty’ understood what needed to change, so despite a forgettable outing at the Masters, Mickelson would be going into the PGA Championship, a bit more prepared.
Where is he planning to improve? His iron game. “I have had to evolve a lot of my game with conditions over the 30-plus years I have played. This year is no different. I am going to beat guys by getting the ball in play and then beating them with my iron play.” Two days in, his concerns were valid. However, his improvements were not.
Phil Mickelson falls precariously short at Quail Hollow
Mickleson had a day to forget on day 1, which was filled with bogeys. The 6-time Major winner carded 7 bogeys and a triple bogey on the 7th hole to finish the day with a score of eight over par. He would require a monumental effort to make the cutline on day 2. But ‘Lefty’ believed he could do it and so did his fans.
Despite a so-so start on day 2, Mickelson carded 4 birdies in 5 holes from holes 7 to 11 and set forth a good base for the remaining seven holes. Neil Schuster encapsulated the moment perfectly in the new No Laying Up episode. “He is such a momentum guy.” Schuster stated. That is true. The one birdie on hole 7 catapulted him to a zone, which ended with a score of 3 under par at the end of 11.
That is when disaster struck for the 54-year-old. On the 12th hole, Mickelson found himself in a sand bunker next to the green. It took him four shots to get out of the bunker, leading to a momentum-breaking quadruple bogey. Whatever run of birdies he had before was evaporated in that instance. “He keeps trying to hit this hero bunker shot that barely gets out off the bunker and trickles down to the pin.” Co-host DJ Piehowski added.
YouTube golfer Phil Mickelson took 4 strokes to get out of the bunker
— Tour Golf (@PGATUOR) May 16, 2025
That was it for Mickelson’s bid for a 7th major title. The quadruple bogey pushed him to a place of no return. But what was even more surprising was his overall game. Despite a promise pre-tournament to improve his game on the irons, Mickelson was far from good. He was ranked 87th on day 1 in strokes gained from approach shots to the green and 76th on day 2. That effectively destabilized his overall game, despite ranking 7th on day 2 for strokes gained off the tee. “His iron game is so undialed. Just bad iron shots. He is trying to get up and down from anywhere.” Schuster added.
Mickelson is a part of 16 LIV Golfers who made the start at Quail Hollow this year. Like ‘Lefty,’ a majority of them have struggled mightily for yet another major.
LIV Golfers struggle in yet another major
For the Saudi-backed tour, a result in the major forms a key link in their need for validation in the field of golf. A way to say that our system also works. However, the results have been fairly disappointing, and the 2025 PGA Championship sums up the status exactly. Of the 16 LIV Golfers, only eight have made the cut at Quail Hollow.
Considering that LIV Golfers only have their best send to the majors, i.e., previous major winners or top performing invitees, this is a very disappointing number. Bryson DeChambeau was the last LIV Golfer to win a major while competing in the Saudi-backed Tour and is currently the highest-placed LIV pro alongside Richard Bland at T17. It is to be noted that he was one of two LIV Golfers to have finished in the top 10 at the Masters this year.
Young guns Tom McKibbin and David Puig made the cut but what is disappointing would be the premature exodus of the likes of Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson. Koepka carded a 9 over par, eight strokes off the cutline, while Dustin Johnson could only muster a 12 over par score.
Why do you think LIV Golfers struggle at Majors? Is it because of the varying format of golf between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?
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