AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Phil Mickelson was once presented at the first tee Thursday to start out his thirtieth look on the Masters Tournament, he was once greeted by way of muted, faint applause. All the contributors of the renegade, Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit within the box had been being handled kind of the similar all over the outlet spherical. Not refrained from, simply now not welcomed.
It was once a type of the silent remedy and as Mickelson walked down the primary fairway Thursday, he was once surrounded by way of a hall of enthusiasts who slightly made a legitimate.
On the 18th inexperienced overdue Sunday afternoon within the ultimate spherical of the 2023 Masters, Mickelson sank a twisting, downhill putt for birdie and two times pumped his left fist as he went to retrieve the ball. He was once barking one thing to himself however it was once inaudible since the hundreds of enthusiasts enveloping the fairway had been on their ft roaring their approval. Soon, the gallery was once chanting: “Phil.”
Mickelson, who would end tied for 2nd at 8 underneath par, waved to the gang and smiled widely, possibly figuring out higher than any individual how a lot had modified in 4 days.
The palpable undercurrent to this 12 months’s Masters, the game’s maximum watched match and the preliminary males’s main of the 12 months, was once the primary head-to-head fit between the LIV rebels and the professionals aligned with the entrenched PGA Tour on the venerable Augusta National Golf Club, which in each and every approach epitomizes conventional golfing. Mickelson has at all times been the headliner of the defectors, and he took the brunt of the warmth for turning his again at the established golfing global closing 12 months — such a lot in order that he voluntarily withdrew from the 2022 Masters.
And now, after his perfect ultimate spherical ever on the match, Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion, was once being feted as though not anything had modified, with delirious cheers.
As his taking part in spouse Sunday, Jordan Spieth, stated in a while: “It felt very much like eight, nine or 10 years ago.”
Spieth additionally performed smartly on Sunday, taking pictures 66 to Mickelson’s 65, and he had firsthand enjoy of what it was once love to play with Mickelson years in the past.
“I’ve played with him three or four times on Sunday here,” Spieth, who completed in a three-way tie for fourth at seven underneath par, stated. “And I didn’t feel a whole lot different than those times.”
That is probably the most significant takeaway from this 12 months’s Masters. A LIV participant would possibly not have received all over the 4 days at Augusta National however they didn’t lose, as many anticipated. The reception Mickelson gained proved that many golfing enthusiasts aren’t drawing strains within the sand over this golfing feud.
The LIV-affiliated golfers took 3 spots within the most sensible 10, together with Brooks Koepka matching Mickelson. Twelve of the 18 entrants made the reduce. For per week no less than, the embarrassingly low tv rankings this 12 months for LIV occasions within the United States gave the impression much less important. The dialog about LIV’s relevance was once altered for per week, led by way of Mickelson. There will now be fewer assertions that LIV’s 54-hole occasions are simply exhibitions that don’t get ready avid gamers for main competitions. Mickelson, 52, for sure confirmed quite a few stamina and panache for the overall spherical on Sunday. Furthermore, he predicted ahead of the match that he was once “about to go on a tear.”
Since Mickelson had now not performed particularly smartly all over his LIV tenure, now not many within the golfing global took that prediction severely.
“It just reaffirms that I knew I was close and have been hitting quality shots,” Mickelson stated after Sunday’s spherical. “This doesn’t feel like a fluke. I didn’t make loose swings at an inopportune time. I stayed very present and calm throughout, then executed and had a blast.”
Mickelson was smiling, even beaming. He understood the moment as he stood in front of the Augusta National clubhouse wearing the logos of the LIV team he captains — the HyFlyers — on his hat and a breast of his black pullover.
“Like this is so much fun,” he said. “Again, we’re all grateful that we’re able to play and compete here.”
He added a subtle, yet cheeky and revealing, comment — what else would you expect from a Phil Mickelson news conference? — that was made plainly accurate by his performance and those of others in LIV’s wing of professional golf.
“I think it’s tremendous for this tournament to have all the best players in the world here,” he said with another grin. “It manner so much.”
Mickelson is correct. For now at least, his performance and that of his brethren within LIV made a statement at the 2023 Masters. For one, the civil war on the fairways and greens that was envisioned didn’t materialize. The golfers from both tours got along. OK, maybe not every LIV representative was as welcome as the likable Cameron Smith, but some of those LIV guys weren’t well liked back when they were on the PGA Tour.
In the end, what the four days at the Masters proved is that the LIV circuit is not going anywhere. That is not necessarily a positive development for the expanded community of golf fans because it means tournament fields, except at the majors (for now or until some exemptions for LIV golfers expire) will be diluted and missing some big names — on both sides.
The cheers were real for Mickelson late Sunday, and understandable. But maybe in some subconscious way those ovations signaled what golf fans are missing—the whole gang back together again.