Phil Mickelson Barely Cracks the Top Half of the LIV Golf Leaderboard in Australia After Round 1
Just two short weeks ago, Phil Mickelson shocked the golf world with a fine showing at the Masters, firing a 7-under 65 in the final round to tie for second with fellow LIV Golf competitor Brooks Koepka.
The runner-up finish was the 12th in Mickelson’s major championship career, good for second on the all-time list, and marked his best finish at Augusta National in eight years. It also helped him make a massive jump in the Official World Golf Ranking as he vaulted more than 350 slots to get back into the top 75.
What made Lefty’s performance so shocking was that he hadn’t cracked the top half of a LIV Golf leaderboard all year, finishing 27th at Mayakoba, 32nd in Tucson, and 41st in Orlando.
So how did Phil fare in his first post-Masters round at this week’s event in Australia?
Phil Mickelson is tied for 24th after the first round of the LIV Golf event in Australia
During the first round of this week’s LIV Golf event in Adelaide, Australia, 23 of the 48 players in the field shot in the 60s on the par-72 layout at The Grange Golf Club.
But Phil Mickelson wasn’t one of them, although he did at least break par with a 2-under round of 70, putting him in a tie for 24th with four others. Lefty made six birdies on the day but also recorded two bogeys and a disastrous double on the par-4 second hole.
So while not a horrible round, Mickelson still has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to notch his first LIV Golf victory as Talor Gooch fired a 10-under 62 and holds a four-shot lead heading into the second round. Here’s a quick look at the full leaderboard after 18 holes.
| Standing | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talor Gooch | -10 (62) |
| T2 | Dean Burmester | -6 (66) |
| T2 | Richard Bland | -6 (66) |
| T4 | Danny Lee | -5 (67) |
| T4 | Pat Perez | -5 (67) |
| T4 | Brendan Steele | -5 (67) |
| T4 | Graeme McDowell | -5 (67) |
| T4 | Bernd Wiesberger | -5 (67) |
| T9 | Scott Vincent | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Peter Uihlein | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Charl Schwartzel | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Jason Kokrak | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Henrik Stenson | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Kevin Na | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Louis Oosthuizen | -4 (68) |
| T9 | Sergio Garcia | -4 (68) |
| T17 | James Piot | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Cameron Tringale | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Abraham Ancer | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Charles Howell III | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Anirban Lahiri | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Cameron Smith | -3 (69) |
| T17 | Brooks Koepka | -3 (69) |
| T24 | David Puig | -2 (70) |
| T24 | Chase Koepka | -2 (70) |
| T24 | Joaquin Niemann | -2 (70) |
| T24 | Bubba Watson | -2 (70) |
| T24 | Phil Mickelson | -2 (70) |
| T29 | Patrick Reed | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Harold Varner III | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Thomas Pieters | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Lee Westwood | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Paul Casey | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Dustin Johnson | -1 (71) |
| T29 | Marc Leishman | -1 (71) |
| T36 | Mito Pereira | E (72) |
| T36 | Matthew Wolff | E (72) |
| T36 | Matt Jones | E (72) |
| T36 | Ian Poulter | E (72) |
| T40 | Sebastian Munoz | +1 (73) |
| T40 | Carlos Ortiz | +1 (73) |
| T40 | Bryson DeChambeau | +1 (73) |
| T43 | Brendan Grace | +2 (74) |
| T43 | Eugenio Chacarra | +2 (74) |
| T45 | Sam Horsfield | +3 (75) |
| T45 | Martin Kaymer | +3 (75) |
| 47 | Jediah Morgan | +4 (76) |
| 48 | Sihwan Kim | +12 (84) |
As for the team aspect of things, Phil’s 70 didn’t register, as all three of his HyFlyers GC teammates bested him in the first round. For those unaware, only the top three scores from each squad count toward the team total. Brendan Steele shot a 5-under 67, while James Piot and Cameron Tringale each fired a 3-under 69. The 11-under total for the day puts them five shots back in fifth place.
