Simply put, Phil Mickelson has struggled since making the jump to LIV Golf last year.

Sure, the 45-time PGA Tour winner had a solid showing at this year’s Masters, shooting a 7-under 65 in the final round to tie for second, his 12th runner-up finish in a major championship, good for second on the all-time list.

But as it pertains to LIV Golf, Lefty has never put himself in position to win. In 48-player fields, Mickelson’s average finishing position through his first 11 starts on the Saudi-backed series is 29.9. And the one time he did finish inside the top 10, a tie for eighth at last year’s Chicago event, he needed a 66 in the final round to get there, which was his only round under par that week. And he still finished seven back of Cameron Smith.

Truth be told, his magic at the Masters was a bit of a shock as he’d failed to finish higher than 27th in the first three LIV Golf events of the 2023 season. But that final round at Augusta seems to have sparked something in the six-time major champ.

While he was never in contention at last week’s event in Australia, Phil shot three rounds under par and shot 12-under for the tournament. And at this week’s event in Singapore, Mickelson actually finds himself in contention after 18 holes.

Phil Mickelson is in contention at the LIV Golf event in Singapore

To kick off this week’s LIV Golf tourney, Mickelson fired a 5-under round of 66 on the par-71 layout at scenic Sentosa Golf Club, putting himself in a tie for sixth with fellow major champs Bryson DeChambeau and Louis Oosthuizen. Lefty tied for the most birdies made on the day, recording seven, but bogeyed the sixth and 13th holes.

Phil is just two shots off the lead, which is held by last week’s winner, Talor Gooch, who continued his solid play with a 7-under 64. Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC teammate, Cameron Tringale, shot a 6-under 65, as did Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, and Cameron Smith.

And speaking of HyFlyers GC, Phil Mickelson & Co. hold the lead on the team side of things, recording a cumulative score of 12-under. In addition to Tringale’s 65 and Mickelson’s 66, James Piot shot a 1-under round of 70. For those unaware, only the top three scores for each team count toward the overall total. The fourth member of the squad, Brendan Steele, struggled to a 3-over 74.

Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC team sits in second at 11-under, and three teams are currently at 9-under.