Phil Mickelson may have seen what Steve Stricker accomplished in his first year of semi-retirement and been inspired to do some scaling back of his own.
After he finished the Tour Championship on Sunday, Mickelson said he will consider cutting events from his schedule to keep him fresh for bigger tournaments.
"I don't play at my highest level every single week. I have kind of ups and downs and I'm a very emotional player," said Mickelson. "I am going to have to factor that into some of my scheduling and maybe cut out 25 percent of my events in an effort to play at a high level when I do play."
Since 2004, Mickelson has played a range of 19-22 official PGA Tour events per season. In the last four years, however, Mickelson has averaged 21 starts. Lopping off up to a quarter of his starts would mean dropping 4-5 events, leaving room for the likes the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
"I know I'm not able to do it 25 weeks a year," said Mickelson. "Maybe I can do it for 18 or 20, though."
Mickelson won in consecutive starts in July, first in a playoff in the Scottish Open, then taking his fifth major at the Open Championship. Since that win at Muirfield, Mickelson has posted one top-20 finish: a T-6 effort at The Barclays.
Add Comment