Phil Mickelson has gone two seasons, two back-to-back seasons without a victory.
Mickelson will turn 46 this year. There are more questions than answers when it comes to his future.
Put simply, Phil Mickelson is at the crossroad of his long and storied career. Where does he go from here? Is this the season he makes a comeback and wins or does he go winless and move closer to the older player’s burial ground — The Champions Tour?
Mickelson will start to provide some of those answers this week. He makes his 2016 debut in LaQuinta starting Thursday at what used to be the old Bob Hope Classic. Today, the latest name is the CareerBuilders and Mickelson has had a very nice career but at this point in time, he’s closer to the end.
Mickelson will tell anyone willing to listen that he’s on the verge of winning. He’s the eternal optimist and in his business, you need to be exactly that. But for the past two years, his clubs haven’t been listening to him.
In 2015 he had but three top 10s. He finished tied for second at the Masters but like the rest of the field, was buried by the greatness that is Jordan Spieth on a roll. He managed a tie for third in Memphis at the St. Jude and a tie for fourth at the Wells Fargo. Other than that, Mickelson was simply a field player — another guy trying to make his way to the weekend.
For each top 10, there was a missed cut.
“My last two years have been disappointing to me and I want to make this upcoming year one of the best years possible,” Mickelson said earlier this year when he phoned in to the Golf Channel’s Morning Drive show. “I’m optimistic but I’m also nervous because it’s sbeen a while since I’ve played to the level I expect to.”
Nervous? Sure.
Mickelson made one huge off-season change when he split from Butch Harmon and decided to work with Andrew Getson, a lesser known instructor from Australia..
Mickelson blamed his poor performance on one particular problem. “My swing plane has not been what I need it to be,” he added.
Where will Mickelson’s swing plane take him this week?
Remains to be seen.
The only certainty is that the three-time Masters champion is a man desperate for a comeback.
