Phil Mickelson’s standing in elite golf suffered with his move to LIV Golf and the way it was conducted, but the six-time major champion remains revered by many of his peers.
The 53-year-old is renowned for offering welcome advice to younger players on tour, particularly at The Masters, sharing insights accumulated throughout an iconic career which has seen him presented with the green jacket three times.
Mickelson has documented his knowledge of the 18 holes at Augusta National in a notebook, and some lucky players over the years have been given access to his cheat sheet. In a poll of players by GolfWeek, several players said Mickelson was the man who helped them learn for the unique test that is The Masters earlier in their careers.
Keegan Bradley said: “Phil Mickelson. He has this scrapbook where he writes down notes. He showed me that certain putts go the opposite direction and when the pin on 2 is on the back left, lay it up short right. That was really helpful.
Rickie Fowler added: “The amount of knowledge [Mickelson] has around there is crazy. He’s got it all written down in a notebook.”
Matt Kuchar says Mickelson’s notebook is so detailed, it even accounts for the different ways the grass is cut throughout the week. He said: “The differences in chipping and putting around the greens. He taught me to go out Wednesday because there’s areas that get cut differently on Tuesday than Wednesday and Wednesday from Thursday. Certain areas that you putt from and others you chip from and it was awesome to have Phil’s level of input.
Mickelson has struggled for form since joining LIV Golf when it launched in 2022, but he will head to Augusta National next week full of confidence thanks to his wins in 2004, 2006 and 2010. He also enjoyed an excellent tournament last year, rolling back the years to produce a sublime final round and climb the leaderboard into second place.
However, he heads to The Masters with a new caddie after the surprise retirement of his brother, Tim, who had been on the bag since 2016. Mickelson has hired Jon Yarbrough, who looped for PGA Tour veteran Scott Stallings for a decade and will make his debut on Mickelson’s bag at LIV Golf Miami this weekend.
“I’ve had some great accomplishments in my career and getting to share them with my brother Tim has been beyond special. I’m very lucky to have had him on the bag for me the past eight years and as my brother for life,” Mickelson said.
“While Tim is retiring from caddying, I’ll always cherish the many great moments we’ve shared on the course and I look forward to many more special moments off the course too.”
