Hey, if Biden can go beg the Saudi's for oil, why can't golfers play for their money.... What's the difference?

Boy, Mickelson really looks good out there today...

TheStorm said:

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Boy, Mickelson really looks good out there today...

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His putting is not sharp. He 4 putted from 12'7". He's had two other putts, one for birdie and one for par lip out. It's his 4th competitive round since February. But continue to bash when you couldn't come close to beating him ever!

I was pleased that he was well received from the first tee forward. He's meant so much to the game over his career, he deserves that.

It bothers me that his putting has declined so much over the last while. I'm sure some of it is mental, but I have to wonder if other physical medical issues are contributing to it?

Hopefully he pulls it together enough the rest of the day and tomorrow to make the cut.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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I was pleased that he was well received from the first tee forward. He's meant so much to the game over his career, he deserves that.

It bothers me that his putting has declined so much over the last while. I'm sure some of it is mental, but I have to wonder if other physical medical issues are contributing to it?

Hopefully he pulls it together enough the rest of the day and tomorrow to make the cut.

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Today is his birthday so I think they have been singing Happy Birthday to him every hole. He probably should have played 2 events before the U. S. Open. Ball striking has been pretty good. Putting has been awful. Some of his misses from fairly close range have been bad. Of course it's U. S. Open greens in the afternoon so they are not going to be great like they are in the morning.

Yeah, and he did just pick up a short par three birdie, so maybe that will get him going.

Lots of guys missing putts, especially turning right at the cup. If they don't get rain, those greens will be hell by Sunday.

TheStorm said:

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Boy, Mickelson really looks good out there today...

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I posted this about 10 seconds before he missed that 5 footer for birdie by about 6 inches to the left... other than that I haven't been watching that closely. If he's made a recovery since then, congrats... and good luck going forward.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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Yeah, and he did just pick up a short par three birdie, so maybe that will get him going.

Lots of guys missing putts, especially turning right at the cup. If they don't get rain, those greens will be hell by Sunday.

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Well he followed his birdie with his worst drive of the day. I think he ended up with a double but it might be only a bogey. The shottracker is not always right. When he finally got it back in the fairway he almost holed the wedge shot.

It was a double.

The guy looks like a beaten man out there. I feel bad for him.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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It was a double.

The guy looks like a beaten man out there. I feel bad for him.

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He will be ok. He is just not sharp. He hit a beautiful shot right down the middle of the fairway right after that. If he can maybe get two back and no more bogeys, then go 2 or 3 under tomorrow, he will most likely make the cut. It's rough out there now. A few guys are really playing well but there is a lot of struggling too.

He doesn't need to play well anymore. He just needs to be out there for the photo-op to earn his blood money... and I'm sure that he is very comfortable with that decision... all he has to do is go through the motions from here.

TheStorm said:

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He doesn't need to play well anymore. He just needs to be out there for the photo-op to earn his blood money... and I'm sure that he is very comfortable with that decision... all he has to do is go through the motions from here.

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Will be interesting to see for the several guys who get huge $$ out of LIV just to play -- do their games falter? I guess they still have the majors to play for, but otherwise, there is no need to win at LIV, just play.

Why is Phil going to go work hard 40 hrs / week now to get his game back? I know he's competitive, but he's also 2x as old as many of his competitors, and just can't physically stay sharp as them. But, to your point, why would he try?

Because he has new championships to win on the Senior Tour. That's why.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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Because he has new championships to win on the Senior Tour. That's why.

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Huh? Then why has he basically shunned the Senior Tour completely? Went out and won a few tournaments on it right after he turned 50, and then basically hasn't been back since.

I mean, I get it that none of us want to admit when we are getting older... and hey, he did win a major last year as well so I'm sure that had a huge impact on him not playing the Senior Tour.

He could already be well on the way to eventually breaking all of Langer's records - and still playing majors and select events on the PGA Tour... but I guess that won't be necessary anymore now.

I think with the things he has going on in his life right now that he'll start playing more senior events, especially their majors. Ego is a hell of a thing, and he certainly has one. The senior events would give him a way to gradually bow out gracefully over time, especially if he manages to win a few.

He's two over today through 15, and plus 10 overall. Hope he gives a good exit interview.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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He's two over today through 15, and plus 10 overall. Hope he gives a good exit interview.

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I personally hope that they don't even waste any time on him...

You and I will agree to disagree over LIV. Lots of folks just like we are.

I'm giving the man his due, he earned it. They all have.

Bell Tower Grey said:

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I think with the things he has going on in his life right now that he'll start playing more senior events, especially their majors. Ego is a hell of a thing, and he certainly has one. The senior events would give him a way to gradually bow out gracefully over time, especially if he manages to win a few.

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He won't be playing on the Champions Tour much in the near future in my opinion. He has already dominated when he has played there winning 4 of the 6 he has played in. He still has enough game to compete with everybody. He was just rusty this week. If he shoots that 73 yesterday he would probably make the cut. His putting and ball striking were just not up to snuff for a U. S. Open. He needed one more tournament under his belt.

His two birdies near the end of his round were long putts. One off the green from about 42 feet and then another from about 57 feet. He was even par his first three holes and then hit a great second shot that was right at the pin, but plugged on the upslope. Balls never plug at the U.S. Open unless you have had a whole lot of rain. He got frustrated made a bad putt then missed the par putt.

He is not done by any means if he want to keep playing. 5 rounds(2 at the U. S. Open) after a 4 month layoff is not a true indicator.

DrummerboyWolf said:

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Bell Tower Grey said:

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I think with the things he has going on in his life right now that he'll start playing more senior events, especially their majors. Ego is a hell of a thing, and he certainly has one. The senior events would give him a way to gradually bow out gracefully over time, especially if he manages to win a few.

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He won't be playing on the Champions Tour much in the near future in my opinion. He has already dominated when he has played there winning 4 of the 6 he has played in. He still has enough game to compete with everybody. He was just rusty this week. If he shoots that 73 yesterday he would probably make the cut. His putting and ball striking were just not up to snuff for a U. S. Open. He needed one more tournament under his belt.

His two birdies near the end of his round were long putts. One off the green from about 42 feet and then another from about 57 feet. He was even par his first three holes and then hit a great second shot that was right at the pin, but plugged on the upslope. Balls never plug at the U.S. Open unless you have had a whole lot of rain. He got frustrated made a bad putt then missed the par putt.

He is not done by any means if he want to keep playing. 5 rounds(2 at the U. S. Open) after a 4 month layoff is not a true indicator.

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While i agree with you overall that Phil doesnt need to go to the senior tour full time at any point, he is certainly declining in his game, even before this layoff. The PGA win last year is a massive outlier as i'm pretty sure its his only top 20 in a major, PGA tour, or WGC event since 2019. So even before his sabbatical he wasn't really playing like the Phil we all loved that battled Tiger in the 2000's and 2010's.

Phil's comments after today's round.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/phil-mickelson-history-misery-u-182848910.html


"I thought I was more prepared than I was," Mickelson said as he got ready to get into his courtesy car and head westward to his home in California. "The U.S. Open is the ultimate test. And you don't really know where your game is until you get tested, and I thought I was little bit closer than I was."

His work on the greens left him the most despondent.

"I really struggled with putting," said Mickelson, who finished in a tie for 33rd last week in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event to win $150,000. "I'm struggling with the putter, last week and this week. I feel I'm certainly playing better than I'm scoring and I look forward to working on it."

Which is why not all was lost this week despite all the misery.

"I enjoyed getting back out here," said Mickelson, who will play in LIV Golf's second event in Portland and then in the British Open next month in Scotland. "The thing I enjoyed the most was playing such a historic golf course and having it set up so remarkably. I think the USGA really did a good job. It really showcased this historic place."

And Mickelson said he won't take long to get back at it.


"I'm pretty motivated to get back to work," he said.

jadawson said:

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DrummerboyWolf said:

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Bell Tower Grey said:

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I think with the things he has going on in his life right now that he'll start playing more senior events, especially their majors. Ego is a hell of a thing, and he certainly has one. The senior events would give him a way to gradually bow out gracefully over time, especially if he manages to win a few.

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He won't be playing on the Champions Tour much in the near future in my opinion. He has already dominated when he has played there winning 4 of the 6 he has played in. He still has enough game to compete with everybody. He was just rusty this week. If he shoots that 73 yesterday he would probably make the cut. His putting and ball striking were just not up to snuff for a U. S. Open. He needed one more tournament under his belt.

His two birdies near the end of his round were long putts. One off the green from about 42 feet and then another from about 57 feet. He was even par his first three holes and then hit a great second shot that was right at the pin, but plugged on the upslope. Balls never plug at the U.S. Open unless you have had a whole lot of rain. He got frustrated made a bad putt then missed the par putt.

He is not done by any means if he want to keep playing. 5 rounds(2 at the U. S. Open) after a 4 month layoff is not a true indicator.

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While i agree with you overall that Phil doesnt need to go to the senior tour full time at any point, he is certainly declining in his game, even before this layoff. The PGA win last year is a massive outlier as i'm pretty sure its his only top 20 in a major, PGA tour, or WGC event since 2019. So even before his sabbatical he wasn't really playing like the Phil we all loved that battled Tiger in the 2000's and 2010's.

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He was in a little slump, but most of it was putting woes. 2018 or 19 he was in the top 5 in strokes gained putting. He always has been a tinkerer, went with the DeChambeau method for a while, and some other things.

Now it's hard to count 2020 because that was the Covid year and he probably only played 7 or 8 tournaments. He was leading the AT&T in 2020 going into the final round, but did not play well and the guy who won played better. Last year he went on the diet to change some things, so don't know how much that affected his play.

He is not as consistent as he used to be, but he still can contend and I believe if he gets a chance on the PGA Tour again, he could win. He can win the Masters again. Will he? Not likely but you just never know and that course suits him and loves playing there. Nobody thought he would win the PGA last year.

I don't believe he's done on the tour either, and still think he can win a few more. Have a feeling he'll be more selective in tourneys played, maybe ones where he feels he has a better overall chance. I hope so.

Still think he'll tear the senior tour up if / when he goes full or semi-full time there.

It was good to see him play better today. Left there with something to build on, for sure.

Exclusive: Brooks Koepka is the latest golfer ready to quit PGA Tour and join Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series. @jcorrigangolf reports.

https://t.co/5KktwCbDIs

I was just perfectly fine with the quality of golf this past weekend.

Big changes to the PGA Tour schedule have been announced starting in 2023.

Full details. 👇https://t.co/JGrVCKW0ei

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 21, 2022

Wolfer79 said:

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Big changes to the PGA Tour schedule have been announced starting in 2023.

Full details. 👇https://t.co/JGrVCKW0ei

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 21, 2022

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Interesting. Apparently the PGA is a little worried about LIV Golf. I believe this is something that Mickelson had been wanting for a long time.

Hmmm PGA seems to be caving a bit and with Koepka leaving this could get really interesting.

Abraham Ancer joining LIV Golf.

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/abraham-ancer-announces-move-liv-golf

Golf media was extra salty this morning. They were loving Brooks when he was going back and forth with Bryson and giving them tons of content, now he's a villain. Will be interesting when a guy who is a true media darling finally crosses over to the dark side.

wilmwolf80 said:

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Golf media was extra salty this morning. They were loving Brooks when he was going back and forth with Bryson and giving them tons of content, now he's a villain. Will be interesting when a guy who is a true media darling finally crosses over to the dark side.

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We have already seen that. Phil, for the most part was a media darling because his press conferences were always fun. From everything I saw and heard, Phil still had most of his fans out there.

Jay Monohan told all the PGA pros that "there is no way back for people who played LIV Golf." I bet once the law suits start he will back off of that.

New school golf media has never liked Phil. No laying up, Kyle Porter, Brendan Porath, that whole clique has always been critical of him. The fans like him, and his move wasn't to change that. The guys I'm looking at are the "young" guys like Spieth, Thomas, Fowler, Dahmen, Scheffler, Rahm, Rory. They've all proclaimed PGA for life, but if or when one of them bolts, that's what I'm interested in seeing.

wilmwolf80 said:

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New school golf media has never liked Phil. No laying up, Kyle Porter, Brendan Porath, that whole clique has always been critical of him. The fans like him, and his move wasn't to change that. The guys I'm looking at are the "young" guys like Spieth, Thomas, Fowler, Dahmen, Scheffler, Rahm, Rory. They've all proclaimed PGA for life, but if or when one of them bolts, that's what I'm interested in seeing.

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Ok got you!

This LIV stuff continues to bum me out more and more. In no way is this beneficial to golf fans.

910wolf said:

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This LIV stuff continues to bum me out more and more. In no way is this beneficial to golf fans.

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I hope the next non-profit to go down the drain is the NCAA. After that, the NBA, NFL, then MLB…. I'm tired of the whole woke culture they profess!!

910wolf said:

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This LIV stuff continues to bum me out more and more. In no way is this beneficial to golf fans.

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I agree. There's always the possibility that golf will be in a better place when all the dust settles with all of this, but for the next few years the fracturing is only hurting the fans of the sport who just want to watch all of the best players play against each other.