Phil Mickelson used this week’s PGA Tour Champions event as a way to fine-tune his game with the U.S. Open upcoming.
He may employ a similar strategy before the Masters.
After his debut victory at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, Mickelson said that there’s a “very good chance” he’ll play in the senior circuit's Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix. The season finale is scheduled for Nov. 6-8, a week before the Masters.
“I like playing the week before,” he said afterward. “I think that’s a good way to prepare for the Masters, getting in a competition and getting mentally sharp to play and compete.”
The PGA Tour event that week is the Houston Open, which has been a longtime staple of Mickelson’s schedule. He’s played the event 14 times, most often in the slot preceding the year’s first major. This year’s event is being played at Memorial Park, a venue Mickelson has never played in competition.
The Champions tour’s season finale is at Phoenix Country Club.
“There’s a very good chance I’ll play in Phoenix just because I spent so much time there and I like to go back,” said Mickelson, who starred at Arizona State in the early 1990s and is a three-time winner of the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open.
This week Mickelson became the 20th player to win in his senior debut when he won by four shots in the Ozarks. He tied the 54-hole scoring record with a 191 total.
