Masters 2023: How returning to Augusta National has allowed Phil Mickelson to rediscover himself

It’s been a week at the 2023 Masters, but it’s also been a year for Phil Mickelson. Returning to Augusta National Golf Club after abandoning last year’s proceedings for the first time since 1994, the three-time blue jacket winner has come to the course in human guise his old.

A year of setbacks, peer criticism and self-imposed hiatuses from the limelight has torn apart one of the great personalities — and players — who once enthralled the sport. Gone are the days when the Left Hand would fly across his crotch, rarely thinking what would come out of his mouth. In his place, a calculating mystery.

Except, for the past three days, the old Mickelson has returned to the field.

During Tuesday’s rehearsal, Mickelson was mostly alone as patrons’ interest was drawn elsewhere. Alone on the training ground, he rarely quarrels with colleagues and turns down the opportunity to speak to the press. Instead, he remained a bit reclusive – at least compared to his former affable personality – in the evening hours, where the talkative nefarious was escorted from the bench to the gallery. in the courtroom, it’s the Champion’s Dinner.

Two days later, when Mickelson was back inside the ropes in the first round, it was clear that he had found his chance. To make up for his mistakes – real and perceivable – Mickelson sees Augusta National as the canvas in which the artist can express his innermost thoughts.

To say that Mickelson has struggled with form since moving to LIV Golf is like Viktor Hovland’s scenario. He hasn’t made the top 10 in a four-round tournament since a sizable tournament on the Atlantic coast now two years on. A brief stint in the first major tournament of the year feels inevitable.

But remember: This is Phil, after all. He’s a modern day Houdini. Surprises should be expected. Drive off deck from pine straw? That is nothing new. Hits described as “salty”, hacks from the other side of the plate, failed hits Dikembe Mutombo wouldn’t dream of beating? It’s all on the table, as we saw on Thursday.

Mickelson said of his 14th right-hand swing in Round 1: “I flipped over an eight iron. I felt like I needed a little bit of heel-to-toe height and the wider the better. . like a leaf that I practice swinging, and I think, ‘Okay, if I can hit this leaf, I can hit the ball.’ If you’ve seen ‘Dodgeball’, ‘If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.’ I thought, ‘If I can hit this card, I can hit a ball.’ I hit the leaf and did it twice, and I said, “Okay, I can do it. Let’s do it.”

“I swing my right arm. To keep your speed up, it’s really important to swing in the opposite direction because the muscles accelerate in the opposite direction, or the muscles decelerate during your normal swing. Because So I swing my right arm every day like a number of times and try to do it.”

All of this led to the opening of 71. Perhaps more importantly, it led to Mickelson opening the scoring.

Enthusiasm was injected into his strut. Lefty’s thumb is for more familiar customers. The 52-year-old, seemingly without a shred of confidence two days earlier, was suddenly in the presence of the six-time major champion we’ve all known for the past 20 years.

Anywhere else – at any other tournament on any other golf course – I’m not sure any of that happens: the odd-seeming discovery of form, the rejuvenation of a oppressed man, second round 69 to put his name on the first page of the leaderboard and subsequent birdies to open his third round.

After Saturday’s brief rain, Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme weathered a wet and cold day from Augusta National at Masters 2023. Watch and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts And Spotify.

At one point on Saturday, only three players took the lead over Mickelson as a biblical rain poured down from the heavens. They are the fiercest major champion of the past decade (Brooks Koepka), the most winning tennis player in this young age (Jon Rahm) and the defending American Amateur champion (Sam Bennett).

“I would use the word ‘spiritual’ more because, if you like golf, when you come [to Augusta National]Mickelson said Friday.

“If you’re a kid and you’re dreaming of playing at the Masters and you want to win it, it gives you something to aspire to. It happened to me. Well then like you , just being able to play here would be great. Isn’t it fun, just to play here. I’m just kidding. But it’s fun to go out and play here. Again, longing to play being on a golf course where you see history being made every year is an exciting thing, and that’s what this place does for me and I think all golfers.”

This year, Augusta National won’t give Phil another blue coat or his seventh major title but instead something he hasn’t experienced in a long time: a sense of self. close.

Mickelson won’t win the Masters when he returns to Augusta. He won’t overtake Koepka like he did at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island as he becomes the oldest major champion in game history

In fact, he may never win the Masters again, but Lefty is back this week in more ways than one.

Gone and forgotten, erased from memory, without any quality left in his game, he reminds us all – and most importantly himself – of what was used to be and the emotions his games (and antics) can still evoke.