Q&A: Phil Mickelson on friendship with Furyk, Rahm and swing speed

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Phil Mickelson will be among the big favorites at this week’s Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS presented by Circle K, a new tournament on PGA TOUR Champions at Timuquana Country Club.

He is coming off a season in which he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah, becoming the oldest player to win a major (50), but otherwise battled inconsistency. For the first time in a quarter century, he failed to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team as a player, admitting he wasn’t deserving of a pick. Instead, he took on the role of vice-captain for U.S. Captain Steve Stricker as the Americans dominated in Wisconsin.

“I think that there's a nucleus of good, young American players now that are going to be exciting to watch throughout the next decade plus,” he said. “There's a lot of guys also that were not on the team that are going to be every bit as exciting and fun to watch, too. I don't think we're going to see the same 12, as young as they were. I think that there's still going to be turnover.

“I mean, look at Sam Burns (who just won the Sanderson Farms Championship last weekend),” Mickelson continued. “He was inches away from being on, he'll most likely definitely be on the next one. I just don't see how a guy that talented won't be.”

Eventually, Mickelson will be a Ryder Cup and/or Presidents Cup captain himself. For now, he’s focusing on playing. He spoke to PGATOUR.COM about whether he’ll play more PGA TOUR or PGA TOUR Champions; what he’s doing to gain speed; world No. 1, friend and fellow Arizona State product Jon Rahm; and the odd double-glove system Furyk deployed in junior golf.

PGATOUR.COM: You went to Arizona State, Jim Furyk went to Arizona. When was the first time you came across each other?

PHIL MICKELSON: First time I met Jim was at an AJGA event, and it was raining. He was wearing these white cotton gloves, and he had no trouble holding onto the club, and I knew that he knew something about the game of golf that I didn’t. His dad was in the golf industry as a pro, I didn’t know that, but you just knew that he knew a lot of things about the game of golf.

He played very well that day, he played well at Arizona. But he had an up-and-down career at Arizona, and he started to improve a lot his last year or two, at a very fast rate. He always had that one intangible, which was that any time he had a chance, or his team needed his score, he always came through with that clutch shot or putt. I always thought he was going to be a good player for like the Ryder Cup, because he was a clutch putter.

PGATOUR.COM: It was a big year for you, and a big year for your friend Jon Rahm, the World No. 1. What are your thoughts on how he’s come into his own as a person and as a player?

PHIL MICKELSON: He’s a remarkable talent; obviously the best player in the world, but he’s also a tremendously humble and kind human being. He just seems at peace. He’s very happy in his marriage, very happy with the birth of their child, and works hard at his golf game. And he treats people well. He’s just a good person.

PGATOUR.COM: You win the PGA Championship, you’re probably thinking, geez, forget about PGA TOUR Champions. Other weeks it probably looked appealing. Where are you in that thought process? You must Ping-Pong back and forth a bit.

PHIL MICKELSON: The answer is I’m not sure. I’m enjoying playing the Champions Tour, I’m enjoying playing against guys that I’ve known for so many years, that I’ve competed against. It’s fun to be around them, and the environment is different, three rounds, being able to take a cart. It’s just more relaxed. It’s not as physically or mentally strenuous.

Whereas the PGA TOUR is a real grind to play your best for all 72 holes and not make a mistake. Because one or two mistakes on TOUR and you’re not going to win; you almost have to play to perfection, as good as these young players are, so it’s a lot more draining.

PGATOUR.COM: You said at the Fortinet Championship, where you contended through three rounds (T36) that you were looking forward to taking three months off. You’ve also said you lost 6 or so miles per hour of speed with the wear and tear of the year. Will you spend that time off in the gym?

PHIL MICKELSON: I’ve already started, which is why I’ve slowed down, because as you start to lift and strengthen you start to lose some of the elasticity and speed. But I’m looking at big picture, getting back into 2022 and making that a special year.

Competing on the Champions Tour, length is not as big a factor, obviously, as on the regular TOUR, so it’s OK for me to try to play through my strengthening program.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you want to be like Bernhard Langer, Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino and rack up massive numbers of victories on PGA TOUR Champions?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think if that was important to me, I would be out here playing every week, because now is kind of the window when I have a bit of an advantage with some of the length. That window will close shortly, so if it were important, I’d be out here every week, but that’s not really my goal.