Getty Phil Mickelson during the 2024 LIV Golf Invitational-Mayakoba.
Since making his controversial jump to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour in 2022, Phil Mickelson has been nowhere near the winner’s circle.
He hit a new low at LIV Golf Mayakoba 2024, posting his worst-ever finish on the circuit, both on the leaderboard (T-51) and in relation to par (+11).
With a new season came new hope for Mickelson, 53, who has just two top-10 LIV finishes after getting paid $200 million to join the Saudi-backed circuit. But when the season opened February 2-4 at the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon Golf Course in Mayakoba, Mexico, Mickelson was a non-factor.
In fact, the only truly great golf we’ve seen from him over the last two years was his final-round 65 at last year’s Masters, which vaulted him into a tie for second with fellow defector Brooks Koepka. Still, Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers of all time, tied for eighth on the all-time PGA Tour wins list with 45, and his six major championship victories are good for a tie for 12th
Phil Mickelson Recorded His Worst-Ever Finish in LIV Golf at Mayakoba
Age is just a number for Phil Mickelson.
Absolutely unreal.
During Friday’s first round at Mayakoba, which will best be remembered for Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf debut and the day Joaquin Niemann shot 59, Mickelson kicked off his 2024 season with a 2-over round of 73, putting him 14 shots back of the lead after 18 holes.
The second round was even worse, as Lefty tied the worst score of his LIV Golf career in relation to par, shooting a 6-over 77 to push himself further down the leaderboard. And while Sunday was better than Saturday, Mickelson still couldn’t manage to break par, firing a 3-over 74.
The day actually could have been far worse as the 53-year-old was 6-over through his first nine holes of the shotgun start but made three birdies coming in. At 11-over for the week, Mickelson tied for 51st with Pat Perez and Peter Uihlein in the 54-player field. Only Harold Varner III was worse at 14-over.
Mickelson’s previous worst in relation to par was 10-over, which he shot in his first two events with LIV Golf in 2022 in London and Portland.
As it pertains to the leaderboard, his previous low was 45th, a spot he found himself in twice in 2023, first in Tulsa in May and then in Chicago in September. It should be noted that those fields featured 48 players.
Mickelson Has Just Two Top-10 Finishes in LIV Golf
Bomb’ing it 💣
As mentioned, Mickelson has posted just two top-10 finishes since joining LIV Golf.
His best finish was a tie for eighth at the Chicago event in 2022 at Rich Harvest Farms in suburban Sugar Grove. Lefty shot 6-under that week to finish seven shots back of Cameron Smith.
At the 2023 event at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Mickelson technically tied for ninth at 1-under with Charles Howell III but officially finished 10th with how individual points were distributed over the first two seasons. Smith also won that event, shooting 12-under.
Over his first 21 starts in LIV Golf individual competitions, Mickelson’s average finish on the leaderboard is 31.6. Lefty will look for a better finish this coming week when the circuit travels to Las Vegas.