Phil Mickelson Working on Swing Speed and Putting

Phil Mickelson now has 43 PGA Tour titles, ninth all time on the list of winners, and he’s still shooting for that magic number 50.

“I’ve got to be honest in my assessment of winning seven more times, is that realistic — it’s certainly my goal and something I’m striving for and yet I know it’s not going to be easy,” Phil Mickelson said to media at the Waste Management Open.

Yet it’s not impossible, either. In his first tournament for 2019, the Desert Classic, he started with a 60 and led for the first three rounds but could not keep his putting together on the final day.

“I was more surprised actually at how well I played because I hadn’t really had the time to practice and prepare the way I wanted to,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll build on the Palm Springs performance and play well here, because there’s no better exciting experience than coming down the stretch here at TPC Scottsdale with the crowd here with a chance to win.”

To that end, Mickelson has been working on two aspects of his game.

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“The two areas that I needed to address the last couple of years, I feel like have finally come together,” he said. “One of them is putting — I’ve been putting very well — and the other is distance and speed and that’s been, that’s come around too. So, the two areas that I’ve been deficient in have become strengths.”

Working on gaining speed and, as a result, distance, is not easy, according to Mickelson. And it takes some time.

“Before you could even try to swing faster, you got to get in the gym and work your stabilizing muscles around your spine or else you’ll get hurt immediately,” he explained. “Then you got to build up your strength and explosiveness, and then you got to retrain your governor and your swing to get that to be faster, and it’s a lot harder the older you are.”

He said it’s not like do this and you are “fixed.” It takes time.

Phil Mickelson did a bio-mechanical study of his swing, looked at his swing sequence, saw what muscles were firing when. Then he proceeded to work on the muscles in the swing sequence that were weak and holding him back. He feels like that has paid dividends.

“I’ve had a massive jump in speed which is a big thing, especially if you hit it crooked,” he noted, not adding that he can hit it very crooked on occasion. “If you’re going to hit it crooked, you better not be short!”

As far as his putting goes, he said he was not prepared enough at the Desert Classic.

“When I had a little issue with the putter on Sunday, I didn’t have the foundation of weeks of practice to be able to fall back on and know what it was and fix it,” he added. “But I’ve had this whole week to address my game and certain areas of it and kind of build a foundation, so I think going forward I’m using Palm Springs as kind of a building block, and this will be an interesting week to see if I’m able to build on that and continue to play at that level.”

Mickelson is playing in his 30th Waste Management Phoenix Open. He couldn’t believe that the time had passed so quickly.

“Just amazing how many great memories I have when I come back and play here, how, what a great feeling I experience with the crowd and the many memories that I’ve had here. It’s a special place,” he said. “I just can’t believe that it’s been 30 years, it just has gone by so fast.”

A college star at Arizona State and an amateur standout nationally, Phil Mickelson played in professional tournaments as an amateur. He even won the 1991 Northern Telcom (Tucson) Open as a college junior, giving him a PGA Tour card when he graduated. In addition, he won it two more times.

“Playing in any PGA Tour event as an amateur was always a big deal,” he noted, “and to have been able to play it as a freshman gave me an opportunity to compete against the highest, against the best players in the world at the highest level and gave me an insight into what I needed to be able to do.”

The TPC Scottsdale, Phil Mickelson has always thought, is perfectly set up for his game.

“When I first started playing the tournament I always felt this was a good golf course for me, always thought I would play well here,” he added. “I always believed I would win this event.”

His first Waste Management Phoenix Open title came in 1996 which he won in a playoff against Justin Leonard. He won it again nine years later, by five strokes. His most recent title there was just three years ago, in 2013. He’s looking for number four.

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“Being in contention is so much fun, I’m just hoping to give myself a chance,” he said.

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