LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 7, 2025

Phil Mickelson

Hong Kong Golf Club

HyFlyers GC

TV Quick Quotes

Q. I've watched you my whole career. It's cool to watch you from this kind of angle, but what is your motivation to keep playing and to beat these guys week in and week out?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think that the last couple years I've been kind of fighting it, meaning I've been playing not inside myself, trying to overpower a course where I don't have the speed like the guys with 190.

This off-season I thought, all right, I've got to find another way. I've got to find another way to shoot scores and try to beat these guys. Today was close. I made a lot of birdies. I drove it pretty much in play, not too far off line, but yet I made four bogeys.

The way I'm going to have to find another way to win is less mistakes. I can't afford to make that many bogeys. But I offset it with some birdies, and I hit a lot of good shots and a lot of good putts. I didn't put myself so far behind after the first round.

Tomorrow I've got to come out and eliminate those mistakes, make six, seven birdies, get back in it for Sunday. I've got to find another way because I'm not going to hang with the speed, so I've got to find another way.

Q. I see you changed that putter. I've seen you play your best with that putter. Is there something with these greens that you put that putter in?

PHIL MICKELSON: So it helps me get more instinctive, and it's what I grew up with. I putt with more instinct rather than aim here, hit it here. So I kind of match up the speed. But Jon Yarbrough has really helped me because he is very good with AimPoint and tells me it's a one, it's a two, and then the grain is doing this, and if it's going with it I'll give a little more, if it's going against I'll give it a little less. He's really helped me on these greens to get a better visual of what the ball is going to do. These greens have always been challenging for me, and I feel like we got pretty dialed in. I made some good putts.