Mickelson begins season with Presidents Cup wildcard pick at stake

NAPA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson will begin the new season with a little extra on the line at the Safeway Open at Silverado.

He needs a Presidents Cup captain’s pick from U.S. Captain Tiger Woods to extend a streak that has seen him play on every American team since 1994.

“I had six great weeks off where I got away and just kind of reset some things,” Mickelson said after playing his pro-am round with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry on Wednesday.

“I know that I can play, that I’ve played in the past. I have not done it, and it’s frustrating, but I’m determined to get it back.”

Last season was one to forget for the World Golf Hall of Famer. After winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 10, Mickelson struggled. For the season, he hit barely half the fairways and was 165th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. The driver is his usual bugaboo, but it didn’t get much better from there: 122nd in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, 139th in Strokes Gained: Putting, and 157th in Strokes Gained: Total (-.438).

It was a huge aberration for the 44-time PGA TOUR winner who turned 49 in June. He never contended after Pebble Beach, finished 47th in the FedExCup, and turned his attention to Twitter.

What was the low point?

“It’s not so much a low point,” he said, “it’s just frustrating when you know you can perform a certain way and you don’t. But I’m determined to fix it. I’ll get it figured out. I always have, I’ve gone through ups and downs like that in the past. Hopefully I already have.”

Part of his rededication has featured a new regimen of eating (no carbs, sugars) and working out that has seen him shed pounds as he searches for his A game.

Mickelson has played in more Presidents Cup matches than anyone (55), and with a 26-16-13 record, he has more victories than anyone. The question is whether he’ll be at Royal Melbourne Golf Club wearing the red, white and blue, Dec. 12-15.

Former teammates and even former captains are watching closely.

“He could win at any given time,” said Fred Couples, a three-time U.S. Presidents Cup Captain who is also playing the Safeway. “That’s probably what it’ll take. He’s older, and he’s not quite there. If he was 16th or 12th or 14th (in Presidents Cup points) and he just played well here, then I think he’d have a shot at it, but he hasn’t played well since Pebble Beach, correct?”

Keep in mind, Couples is one of Mickelson’s biggest fans. They’ve known each other for the last 30 years, and Couples vouched for Mickelson as a pick for the 2015 Presidents Cup in Korea, when U.S. Captain Jay Haas was wavering on the popular lefthander.

“Jay and I were battling in a good way,” Couples said. “I wanted him, and Jay was like, ‘Well, what about this guy?’ The big joke was, I said, ‘Jay, if you’re going to go out and play a guy for $100,000, who would you rather play, that guy or Phil?’ He said, ‘I’d rather play that guy.’

“I said, ‘Well, there’s your choice. Take Phil.’ And he was the MVP.”

Mickelson went 3-0-1 as the U.S. won a squeaker. He also went 3-0-1 at the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, doing much of his damage with partner Kevin Kisner.

Asked earlier this week what Mickelson brings to the team room, Bryson DeChambeau cited his experience.

“I hope he makes it," DeChambeau said. "I hope he plays well and plays his way on and gets picked.”

Added Couples, “He is a tremendous teammate for a lot of reasons. He has fun in the team room, and he plays with anybody. If you’re ever a captain, and you have him on your team, you could go in at the 23rd hour and say, ‘Phil, DeChambeau needs a partner, Patrick Reed needs a partner, Bill Haas needs a partner.’ ‘No problem what ball they use, I’ll use it.’ That’s a team player.”

Mickelson will play the Safeway, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in attempt to get back on track.

This would be his 13th Presidents Cup, should he find a way to earn a uniform.

“I have three events of the next four where I'll … try to show that my game is coming around,” he said. “I'm excited to get back and play and compete. I've done a lot of work in the offseason to try to get my best back. I'm not happy with the way the last six months have gone, probably the worst six months of my career, and I'm determined to fix it.”