Phil Mickelson at The Masters in 2019 – Why not Lefty?

Does Lefty have one more magical moment left in the tank at Augusta?

Phil Mickelson is Jekyll and Hyde personified. What will Phil do next? That is something we’ve been asking for nearly 30 years but now at the age of 48 that statement has never been more true when discussing Mickelson.

He is currently Top 20 on the FedEx Cup points list as well as Top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking and a winner in 2019. That sounds like a decent year even for a World Golf Hall Of Fame member.

However, the numbers don’t necessarily tell the story for Lefty in 2019.

Mickelson is approaching age 49 this June and we have always been accustomed to volatility when discussing Mickelson. However, this year his volatility is off the charts.

He opened the year with a second-place finish by losing on the final hole (alongside Adam Hadwin) to PGA Tour rookie Adam Long at the Desert Classic in what was one of the bigger upsets of the season.

He followed that up with a missed cut at the Phoenix Open leaving the golf world wondering if the previous week was a one-off and if 2019 would be the year Phil finally started to act his age.

We should have known better because the following week at Pebble Beach, Mickelson won and it wasn’t just any win either. It was his fifth win at Pebble Beach in a dominating performance closing out Paul Casey with a final round 65.

Once again, Phil Mickelson takes the title at Pebble Beach.
He wins the @attproam for a record-tying fifth time. pic.twitter.com/1F065gZtDx

— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) February 11, 2019

However, since that victory in mid-February it’s been a mixed bag of mediocre finishes and missed cuts.

So what about this week? What about Augusta? What can we expect from Phil?

If there’s anything we should have learned by now when discussing Mickelson is that he’s guaranteed us two things; he’s completely unpredictable and you can never count him out.

So why not Phil in 2019?

Jack Nicklaus got his last green jacket at age 46. Mickelson committed to fitness with his new off-season work-out routine and has found more ball speed and is hitting it further than ever before. More importantly (other than Pebble Beach), is there a golf course where Mickelson has had more magic than Augusta?

One could even argue that Augusta is more Phil’s house than Tiger Woods.

Look at their career numbers at Augusta; Mickelson has three wins and eight top fives versus Woods four green jackets and six top fives.

However, maybe the answer is not in the numbers and maybe it’s something you can’t chart.

Regardless of the sport, when some players put on certain jersey or when they play in a historic building or stadium, magical things happen. They just become better and are able to create special moments that write our history.

So why not Phil in 2019?