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January 31, 2023

Phil Mickelson

Royal Greens Golf and Country Club

Press Conference

PHIL MICKELSON: (In progress) addressed areas that I need to improve and do something special this year.

Q. How do you think your game is right now compared to last year?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's night and day. I have to look at last year as an anomaly and just let it go. I wasn't ready to play at the start, I wasn't ready to play during, and this off-season I'm ready to play. I've been playing really well at home, and I'm ready to bring my game back out here and compete.

I think we're -- I'm optimistic to see a whole different outlook, a whole different game, a whole different competitiveness.

Q. Would you say you're actually fired up for what's coming up?

PHIL MICKELSON: Very much so. I have a whole different energy, whole different excitement. I've been rejuvenated. Best shape I've been in in a long time. I'm back to my college weight. It allows me to recover faster after I play.

I'm changing some of the ways I practice to be more efficient. Rather than quantity, it's much more quality driven, and I'm seeing a difference when I go out and play in the way I am kind of pulling the shots off on the golf course.

I'm very optimistic about playing at a level that I expect to play at.

Q. When was the last time you felt like this?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's hard to say. I've been making some changes over the years with Andrew Getson, and we finally have kind of the swing and the face awareness and shot making to where I like it.

The best that it's been was at Kiawah in '21, as far as hitting draws, hitting fades and control of the ball, and I'm getting close to that level of shot making day in and day out. I think I'm going to be able to play at a higher level consistently with some of the changes I've made, allowing myself to recover better, changing things that I eat, changing my recovery time, changing my practice pattern. I've had to make a lot of adjustments as I've gotten older to get back to that level.

I'm embarrassed with how I played last year. I'm going to put that behind me and have a really good year.

Q. What's your weight now?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's my college weight. We don't need to go to numbers, but I'm back to where I was when I turned pro. That's the first time that's happened.

Q. Was losing weight and getting fitter with that, was that a conscious part of the plan to get the swing and the game where you want it to be?

PHIL MICKELSON: Very much so because of the ability to recover faster now. It's changed my blood work to be less inflammation, a lot more things that give me energy. That's the biggest reason why I did it.

I've noticed I've been able to just recover and be ready for the next round a lot quicker. The challenge I've had over the last few years is I haven't really been ready to play the following day. I haven't recovered fast enough, and I find that I'm starting to do that much better.

Q. Can I ask you about your social media engagement; we're so happy that you're back on it. What I really find interesting is that you are perhaps one of the players who just doesn't post one and forget about it. I think you do make an effort to go through the comments and reply to the comments. Can you just tell me about your social media philosophy, and will we be able to see you full time on it?

PHIL MICKELSON: I've had a lot of fun with it over the years, and this last year I've kind of gone dark, if you will, and rightfully so. I have to be very careful; I can't say all the things I want to say yet. But many this year I'll be able to. I'll have that freedom when some of these things going on off the course get settled and become more transparent.

I have to be a little bit guarded right now, but later this year when things are much more transparent, I'll be able to be more engaging.

But on areas that I'm able to be, I guess, more engaging, where it's not going to cause problems with some of the things that are going on off the course, then I'm going to try to do that, because I enjoy it. I think it's fun. I've always enjoyed having fun.

But there's a little bit of a transition, and I knew that this was going to happen for the first couple of years, that I'll have to be -- want to be sensitive and careful and a little bit guarded. But I'm looking forward to being a little more engaging, as well.

Q. You had a message for Rory before the last round yesterday on Twitter. Can you just give me your thoughts about that final round and the battle that he had with Patrick Reed and the appreciation for what Patrick Reed did, given all that was going on around him?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think that when you have characters in the game, when you have controversy in the game, I think it creates a lot more excitement, a lot more awareness. What transpired early in the week with Patrick and Rory added to the excitement level.

I thought the final round was incredible. Both players played some great golf. Patrick played an incredible final round, and Rory didn't really have his best stuff throughout the day, but he fought hard for the last two to win, and I think that shows a lot about the kind of champion and player he is.

I thought it was great for the game to have that type of interest, and it's been interest throughout the globe. That's a really good thing.

In a couple of weeks I expect that the players, the LIV players will win their case in the UK, and we'll open the doors for all players to play on the European Tour. There's a very good chance that you'll have more showdowns, more head-to-head competitions like you saw last week in Dubai, and I think that would be a really good thing for the game.

Q. You mentioned your patterns of recovery for your body. Could you explain the importance of having less tournaments to play but having the majors and having time to spend time with your family as well as recovery?

PHIL MICKELSON: Yes, I think that the biggest area was that three months in the off-season where you have enough time to really make a plan, a long-term plan to make changes. When you only have six weeks, it's not really enough to make the changes you want.

This off-season, I've been able to address some of those things, work with a doctor on specific areas that are going to help me long-term, whether it's eating the right foods, whether it's getting rid of inflammation, whether it's cognitive function or gut health or things like that. I really want to address all areas that can allow me to be my best, because I think there's a unique opportunity for me in the coming years.

I'm in all majors the next three years, and nobody has really had the opportunity to do some special things with the game at this age because they haven't been injury free. Like they would get hurt and they had some struggles when they got older, and I've been able to play injury-free throughout my career and be in good shape at 52, and I know how to play at a high level. Now I just have to get that up. I'm trying to address the areas that are challenging as we get older and do something that's unique and create kind of a life experience that occurred at Kiawah just about a year and a half ago. That's my motivation.

Q. You've talked about the majors and how the next three years gives you a very unique opportunity. Can you just talk about this year, apart from Augusta National, the three golf courses you'll be go to for the majors, and how are you planning those three weeks?

PHIL MICKELSON: So I'll use kind of a preparation that has -- I've had different preparations for majors that have worked in the past. At Kiawah I did not play the week before, and I used that time to work on my game at home. In the past, I've played the week before.

I'll have a little bit of a mixture of both because of the schedule. I'll play the week before the PGA Championship; I'll play the week before the Masters. I'm looking forward to that.

I won't be playing the week before the U.S. Open because we don't have a tournament. The Boston tournament got canceled. What that does is give me a chance to go up to the course, which is right where I live, like it's LA Country Club, and play there. I believe Oak Hill as well as LA Country Club have been redesigned by Gil Hanse. He does a wonderful job, and I expect those courses to really showcase well with all the subtleties and nuances that are amazing in those courses and in his designs.

I look forward to getting back to Royal Liverpool and playing there, too. We've had some great champions there with Tiger and Rory winning the last couple of times, and I've had a couple of decent performances there, but I'm looking forward to playing well there, too. I like the golf courses for the majors. Obviously Augusta is my favorite. I think that's just a special place, and I'm looking forward to getting back.