Phil Mickelson Posts the Second-Best Finish of His LIV Golf Career but Was Still Nowhere Close to Winning
LIV Golf had a wildly successful weekend in Australia as an estimated 90,000 people walked the grounds at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide over the last three days. And while those 90,000 watched Phil Mickelson play far better than he has been in the Saudi-backed series, they also watched as he failed yet again to crack the top 10 on the leaderboard, something many thought he might do given his recent performance at the Masters.
But it’s not as if Mickelson wasn’t close. In fact, he finished just one shot back of a tie for 10th and earned the second-best finish of his LIV Golf career.
Phil Mickelson recorded the second-best finish of his LIV Golf career at this weekend’s Australia event
Following an opening-round 70 on the par-72 layout at The Grange, Mickelson shot the low round of his LIV Golf career on Saturday, firing a 7-under 65, matching his final round a couple of weeks back at Augusta National.
But despite his solid play, Phil entered the final round 11 shots back of the lead as Talor Gooch was a ridiculous 20-under after consecutive 62s. And while Gooch was 11 shots worse on Sunday with a 1-over 73, he still finished at 19-under for the week, three clear of Anirban Lahiri.
As for Mickelson, the 52-year-old posted a 3-under 69 to finish at 12-under for the week. While technically tied for 11th, he officially finished 16th, given how the LIV Golf points system works. Here’s a look at the full leaderboard.
| Finish | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talor Gooch | -19 |
| 2 | Anirban Lahiri | -16 |
| 3 | Patrick Reed | -15 |
| 4 | Cameron Smith | -15 |
| 5 | Cameron Tringale | -15 |
| 6 | Pat Perez | -15 |
| 7 | Peter Uihlein | -14 |
| 8 | Dean Burmester | -14 |
| 9 | Charl Schwartzel | -14 |
| 10 | Dustin Johnson | -13 |
| 11 | Jason Kokrak | -12 |
| 12 | Bubba Watson | -12 |
| 13 | Kevin Na | -12 |
| 14 | Sergio Garcia | -12 |
| 15 | Henrik Stenson | -12 |
| 16 | Phil Mickelson | -12 |
| 17 | Harold Varner III | -12 |
| 18 | Louis Oosthuizen | -12 |
| 19 | Brooks Koepka | -12 |
| 20 | Abraham Ancer | -12 |
| 21 | Marc Leishman | -11 |
| 22 | Charles Howell III | -11 |
| 23 | Sebastian Munoz | -11 |
| 24 | Chase Koepka | -10 |
| 25 | Danny Lee | -10 |
| 26 | Ian Poulter | -9 |
| 27 | Mito Pereira | -9 |
| 28 | Bryson DeChambeau | -9 |
| 29 | Brendan Steele | -9 |
| 30 | Joaquin Niemann | -8 |
| 31 | Bernd Wiesberger | -8 |
| 32 | James Piot | -7 |
| 33 | Thomas Pieters | -7 |
| 34 | David Puig | -7 |
| 35 | Richard Bland | -7 |
| 36 | Lee Westwood | -6 |
| 37 | Carlos Ortiz | -6 |
| 38 | Graeme McDowell | -6 |
| 39 | Paul Casey | -4 |
| 40 | Scott Vincent | -3 |
| 41 | Brendan Grace | -3 |
| 42 | Matt Jones | -2 |
| 43 | Jediah Morgan | -1 |
| 44 | Matthew Wolff | E |
| 45 | Eugenio Chacarra | E |
| 46 | Martin Kaymer | +7 |
| 47 | Sihwan Kim | +14 |
| 48 | Laurie Canter | E |
| WD | Sam Horsfield | +1 |
Mickelson’s 16th-place finish is the second-highest of his LIV Golf career, behind only his eighth-place finish in Chicago last year. And it’s easily his highest finish of this 2023 season,n as he finished 27th at Mayakoba, 32nd in Tucson, and 41st in Orlando.
As for the team aspect, Phil’s Hyflyers GC squad finished fourth at 40-under, also their highest finish of the season.
Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf are right back at it next weekend in Singapore.
