Phil Mickelson has best final round in 30th Masters Appearance

AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Phil Mickelson was introduced to the first tee Thursday to begin his 30th appearance at the Masters Tournament, he was met with muffled, faint applause. All members of the renegade Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit in the field were treated much the same during the opening round. Not shunned, just not welcome.

It was a form of silent treatment, and as Mickelson walked down the first fairway on Thursday, he was surrounded by a corridor of fans who barely made a sound.

On the 18th green late Sunday afternoon in the final round of the 2023 Masters, Mickelson sank a spinning downhill putt for a birdie and pumped his left fist twice as he went to retrieve the ball. He barked something to himself, but it was inaudible as the thousands of fans who surrounded the green stood on their feet and roared in approval. Soon the gallery was singing, “Phil.”

Mickelson, who would finish tied for second place with eight under par, waved to the crowd and smiled broadly, perhaps understanding better than anyone how much had changed in four days.

The palpable undercurrent of this year’s Masters, the sport’s most-watched tournament and the year’s first major for men, was the first head-to-head matchup between the LIV Rebels and the pros to join the entrenched PGA Tour on the venerable Augusta National Golf Club, which epitomizes traditional golf in every way. Mickelson has always headlined the defectors, and he took the brunt of the heat for turning his back on the established golf world last year – so much so that he voluntarily withdrew from the 2022 Masters.

And now, after his best ever final round at the tournament, Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion, was celebrated as if nothing had changed, with frenzied cheers.

As his Sunday playing partner, Jordan Spieth, said in retrospect, “It felt very much like eight, nine, or 10 years ago.”

Spieth also played well on Sunday, shooting 66 to Mickelson’s 65, and he had experienced firsthand what it was like to play with Mickelson years ago.

“I played with him three or four times here on Sunday,” said Spieth, who shared fourth three times with seven under par. “And I didn’t feel much different from that time.”

That is the most meaningful conclusion of this year’s Masters. A LIV player may not have won during the four days at Augusta National, but they did not lose, as many expected. The reception Mickelson received proved that many golf fans are not drawing a line in the sand about this golf feud.

The LIV-affiliated golfers took three places in the top 10, including Brooks Koepka who matches Mickelson. Twelve of the 18 contestants made the cut. For at least a week, the embarrassingly low ratings this year for LIV events in the United States seemed minor. The conversation about the relevance of LIV was modified for a week, led by Mickelson. There will now be fewer claims that LIV’s 54-hole events are just exhibitions that don’t prepare players for major competitions. Mickelson, 52, certainly showed plenty of stamina and panache for the final round on Sunday. In addition, before the tournament, he predicted that he was “on the verge of bursting into tears”.

Since Mickelson hadn’t played particularly well during his LIV tenure, not many people in the golf world took that prediction seriously.

“It just confirms that I knew I was close and got quality shots,” said Mickelson after Sunday’s round. “This doesn’t feel like a fluke. I didn’t make loose swings at an inconvenient time. I remained very present and calm the whole time, then carried it out and had a lot of fun.

Mickelson smiled, even beamed. He understood the moment as he stood in front of the Augusta National clubhouse with the logos of the LIV team he captains – the HyFlyers – on his hat and on the chest of his black jersey.

“Like this is so much fun,” he said. “Again, we are all thankful to be able to play and compete here.”

He added a subtle, but sassy and revealing comment – what else would you expect from a Phil Mickelson press conference? – that was made evident by his performance and that of others in LIV’s professional golf wing.

“I think it’s great for this tournament to have the best players in the world here,” he said with another grin. “It means a lot.”

Mickelson is right. For now, at least his performance and that of his brethren in LIV has made a statement during the 2023 Masters. First, the planned civil war on the fairways and greens has not materialized. The golfers on both tours got along very well. OK, maybe not every LIV rep was as welcome as the likeable Cameron Smith, but some of those LIV guys weren’t as well loved when they were on the PGA Tour.

In the end, the four days at the Masters proved that the LIV circuit isn’t going anywhere. That’s not necessarily a positive development for the extended community of golf fans, as it means tournament fields, except at the majors (for now or until some exemptions for LIV golfers expire) are watering down and missing some big names – on both sides.

The cheers were real for Mickelson late on Sunday, and understandable. But maybe those ovations somehow subconsciously signaled what golf fans miss: the whole gang back together.