Phil Mickelson hasn't won in more than two years, and, at 45, hopes changing instructors might lead to one last run.
Last week, Golf.com reported, Mickelson flew to Las Vegas and parted ways with Butch Harmon after eight years.
“I’ve learned a great deal from him in our eight years together,” Mickelson said in a statement to the publication. “It’s just that at the moment I need to hear new ideas from a different perspective.”
Mickelson earned 12 wins under Harmon's watchful eyes, including the 2007 Players, 2010 Masters and 2013 Open Championship, a shocking win at Muirfield that leaves the left-hander a U.S. Open away from the career Grand Slam. However, since that Open win, Mickelson has posted just five top-10 finishes, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the 2014 PGA Championship and 2015 Masters. In 2014, Mickelson missed the cut at the Masters for the first time since 1997.
Harmon saw the warning signs that his message wasn't connecting as it once did, encouraging Mickelson to seek a new direction.
“We talked for about two hours," Harmon said to Golf Digest. "I completely agreed that sometimes you need to hear things a different way, get a different perspective on things. He’s been frustrated the last two years. I thought it was a good idea that he would do this. He needs to hear things differently that maybe get him rejuvenated and get him back to what we all know he can be.”
Mickelson has apparently already found someone with new ideas. Golf Digest is separately reporting that Mickelson has hired Andrew Getson as his new coach. Mickelson knows the Aussie Getson through his association with Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he has been at the club for six years. Getson played pro golf for a decade and has worked with other pro golfers, including Kevin Streelman.
