LIV GOLF ADELAIDE

April 22, 2023

Phil Mickelson

The Grange

Hy Flyers GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Phil Mickelson, the captain of Hy Flyers GC. Welcome, Phil. You had an incredible day today, shot 7-under 65. Tell us a little bit about your day. You're clearly on a hot streak right now.

PHIL MICKELSON: We had a fun day with Harold Varner shooting 8-under and Patrick and myself shooting 7. We had a really hot group, got off to a quick start and kept it going. It's fun to play well, and our team is doing well. Cameron Tringale had a nice 7-under-par round, as well, and even though the Range Goats have really taken off with Talor Gooch's play, you just never know what's going to happen tomorrow. We're playing well, and we're going to try and make a move.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously coming off an incredible run at the Masters and now this week you seem to have found your form. What's clicked?

PHIL MICKELSON: My game. So I'm going to try to keep building on it and get better, but the parts of my game have been really coming together for a while, so I'm glad that I'm shooting some scores now again. I'm looking forward to a pretty busy schedule.

My game is kind of coming around at the right time. I've got this tournament I'm going to try to finish off and play a really good round tomorrow, and then we're going to go to Singapore and play and then come back to the States and have three weeks in a row with the PGA Championship right in the middle. It's coming around at the right time, and I'm going to keep working and trying to build on it.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your experience with the amazing Aussie fans and the huge crowds we've been having here. This really shows the blueprint for what LIV can be. Tell us about this.

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, this is really an example of what is possible and a new opportunity to present golf in a different way and have a different energy and a different feel. I'm not saying it should happen every week, but what LIV Golf has provided is really a great alternative for the traditional ways of golf and the people here in Australia have embraced it. You see a whole different energy, a whole different excitement and fun, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

Q. The Australians love you out here, it's clear. Tell us about your experience on hole No. 12, the Watering Hole.

PHIL MICKELSON: Mean, that's really a cool feature. But I think the thing that I enjoy most are some of the little things about being here in Australia. For instance, when I go sign autographs, I signed yesterday, there wasn't any pushing, there wasn't any shoving. People were patient. They waited. They were appreciative. I just really appreciate that. I appreciate how kind everybody has been.

Last few holes, alcohol has been flowing, that's great, and maybe it might be a little bit louder and stuff, but that's what we want. We want golf but louder. We want a different environment. We want a not stuffy environment, and that's what we're trying to create, and that's what people here in Australia have kind of embraced.

Q. What was your walk-out song on the Watering Hole?

PHIL MICKELSON: My song was "Lose Yourself" with Eminem. I've liked his stuff for a long time, and it just was fitting. There was some lines in there that just worked well.

Q. In an individual event the tournament would probably not have much drama tomorrow, but because we have the team aspect, there's still a lot of things that can move about. Can you talk about the importance of having that team competition going into a tournament like this where there is some drama tomorrow?

PHIL MICKELSON: It does make it a lot more fun and exciting and interesting. This is a rarity to have after two rounds such a big lead by Talor Gooch. That's some exceptional play. To have a 10-shot lead after two rounds, that's almost unheard of. It doesn't happen often. I don't know if it's ever happened here on LIV Golf. But the team aspect brings everybody together, and when you're counting three scores, you could have massive changes. Their team shot 23-under par. You can have huge changes. A lot of teams are still in it.

Q. Can you just talk about maybe the tape on your wrist; is that something new that you've been using?

PHIL MICKELSON: It just helps with inflammation. The ground is pretty firm and I've been going in pretty aggressively, and it just makes it feel a little bit better. There's really nothing to it. I'll probably take it off a little later, but it just helps.

Q. Just on a personal level, when you're out there and it seems like every five meters there's a fresh wave of appreciation for you, how does that affect you on a personal level?

PHIL MICKELSON: I certainly appreciate the way people have responded. The way they have treated everybody here, the way they have shown the appreciation of being here, and some of the comments have made myself, made all the players feel very appreciated. That makes you want to come out and be a part of it and do more for the fans and more for the people who are out watching and try and create a more fun environment, be more engaging. It breaks down the barrier between player and fans and brings them closer together.

Q. He mentioned the tape on the wrist; you said it was from impact. Are you sure it's not from just giving too many thumbs ups?

PHIL MICKELSON: Certainly that's a part of it. My thumbs are sore. But again, it's just kind of my way of acknowledging and showing appreciation for the people when they have been so supportive in their comments. It's just a way of trying to connect and let them know I appreciate some of the things they're saying.

Q. I asked a similar question of Cam Smith, but has this event exceeded your expectations here in Australia?

PHIL MICKELSON: Probably. I knew that there were going to be a lot of people. I didn't really understand fully how many people were going to be out here.

Again, what I am appreciative of is how kind everybody has been and how the comments have been fun or funny and positive. So it's been fun to play in this environment.

The support that Cam Smith has had is pretty cool to see, too. I understand why he's so loved here in Australia, and we're certainly excited to have him on LIV Golf and be able to play in front of his hometown here in Australia.

Q. Again on the Watering Hole situation, there was a lot of beer flowing around today. Will you have to wear a rain jacket tomorrow?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think that hole is really fun, really cool. I think they did a great job of having just the right amount of loud interaction and yet without going over the top. I thought it was really well done. It allowed for more people out there, more access and people be able to see better.

Like I said, I didn't understand fully like how many people were going to be here. I mean, numbers, they threw numbers around, I know it has been sold out for a while, but I didn't really grasp that every fairway was going to be lined and just exactly how many people were coming out.

Then I come here to Adelaide and I see the stadiums and the tennis centers and all of the sports and opportunities and the love of sports here in city, and I start to understand better. It's pretty cool.

Q. It's been two weeks almost since the Masters, that incredible performance on the last day at Augusta. Can you talk about the reaction you've had since then leading into an event like this and playing so well the last couple of days, too?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's been a nice momentum change for me because I really hadn't played the way I had wanted to last year, and then I was playing really well starting this year and didn't have any results here on LIV. I felt like I had a good chance to play and compete at Augusta, but I had no real momentum or no real results prior to that.

Then the final round things kind of clicked. I hit a lot of good shots the first three days, but it wasn't really quite coming together, and it came together the final day. It carried over at home. I played great at home and played really well today, too. I didn't play as well as I wanted to yesterday, but again, it's a process. Winning is a process. I'm starting to build back some momentum, and it's at the right time because we have a lot of tournaments coming up, and I feel like I'm just getting better each day, and I'm looking forward to playing the way I know and believe I can play.

Q. I've noticed after your round the last two days you've been spending a lot of time in the scorer's hut going over the laptop. Give us an insight into the process you're going through and the sort of stuff you're working on straight after your round.

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm actually just taking a minute. I'm just taking 10, 15 minutes to just kind of regroup, recuperate so that I don't say anything too stupid here, so that I have the energy to go interact and sign autographs for the people that are patient enough to wait. I'm just kind of gathering myself.

Q. Just quickly, what one aspect of the course impresses you the most?

PHIL MICKELSON: There's a lot. It's hard to sing will out just one. The architecture, the character, greens are very well done. The shot value -- the number of shots you can play. The definition of a great golf course to me is a course that is playable for every player but challenging for the good player. This is playable for everyone, and it's challenging for the good player, and I think that the variety of shots, the opportunity for players of all levels to be able to play here and be challenged I think is just a sign of a great golf course, and we're having a lot of fun playing here.