Phil Mickelson struggled at the PGA Championship.
Phil Mickelson marked his return to the PGA Tour with an embarrassing series of shots which went viral online. Whilst competing at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, he hit a brutal quadruple-bogey eight on the 12th hole, struggling in a greenside bunker.
Mickelson signed a four-year deal with LIV Golf in 2022, meaning that his current contract with the breakaway league is set to expire at the end of the year. Nevertheless, he has continued to compete in some PGA events, but he has failed to impress in those competitions recently.
He failed to make the cut at the Masters recently, and the veteran’s struggles continued when he took to the course at the PGA Championship. Michelson concluded his opening round on Thursday with a poor eight-over round.
The six-time major champion improved on the Friday with a one-over round, but ultimately it did not prove enough for him to make a cut. Matters then went from bad for worse for Mickelson when he took to the tee on the 12th hole, a par four.
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He fired his shot into a greenside bunker, and it astonishingly took him four shots to get out, with each shot appearing to drain him of more and more of his willpower. After finally making it out of the bunker, Mickelson then two-putted to record a disappointing quadruple bogey.
Clips of his struggles in the bunker soon went viral, with many pointing out that the mistakes were out of character for Mickelson given that he has a reputation for being one of the most comfortable players in the sand traps.
With such disappointing displays in quick succession, it remains to be seen how Mickelson tackles his next few events, with a return to LIV Golf on the horizon with the LIV Virginia tournament taking place on June 6.
Mickelson has made it no secret in years gone by that he is continuing to compete at the very top level in the hope that he will win the U.S. Open and therefore complete a career grand slam – a feat recently achieved by Rory McIlroy. However, if he is unable to bounce back to any competitive level of form then it remains to be seen whether he considers retirement beforehand.
