CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — What a weird year it’s been for Phil Mickelson, whose unofficial personal marketing slogan reads: “What will Phil do next?’’

As Mickelson prepares to play the British Open this week at Carnoustie, this question has taken on heightened existence considering Mickelson’s last few months, which have included:

Introducing a long-sleeved, button-down dress shirt in the 90-plus-degree Florida heat at the Players Championship in May.

A bizarre rules infraction in the third round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where he swatted a moving putt out of frustration with the impossible pin location and slick green. That was followed by an even more bizarre — and convoluted — explanation that he did it to use the rules to his advantage.

Calling a penalty on himself a few weeks after the U.S. Open for tamping down some tall grass in front of a tee box at the Greenbrier.

Mickelson’s colorful and eventful life has never been bogged down by many dull moments, and the past few months have been evidence of that.

When the 48-year-old Mickelson won the WGC-Mexico Championship in March, he ended a winless drought that stretched back to 2013 and it gave him 43 career victories.

Asked about the prospect of reaching his goal of 50 career wins, Mickelson said, “Oh, I will, I’ll get there.’’

The problem is since the win in Mexico, Mickelson has played 10 tournaments and has only one top-five finish, his tie for fifth at the Wells Fargo in May. In his last three events, Mickelson tied for 48th at the U.S. Open, tied for 65th at the Greenbrier and missed the cut at the Scottish Open.

So what will Phil do next?

And will it be something he wants to remember — like his 2013 British Open triumph at Muirfield, an accomplishment he cherishes as perhaps his greatest feat? Or another dubious moment?

“Yeah, it’s not been my best month,’’ Mickelson told reporters at the Scottish Open last week. “I’ve had a rough month. I haven’t been my best. So I’m working at trying to fix that. I made a big mistake [at the U.S. Open] and I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. There’s not much I can do about it now other than just try to be … act a little better.

“At the time — and it took me days [to cool down] — I was pretty angry. The way I show anger is not the traditionally accepted way of, you know, throwing clubs and berating the fans and marshals. I tend to be a little more passive aggressive in my actions, and that was kind of what I was doing.

“Not only was I not great on the course, I was not great after the round, either,’’ Mickelson went on, referring to his curious explanation after the swatted moving putt. “So it was just not a great day, and it was my birthday. So I tend to do dumb stuff on my birthday, too.’’

Mickelson now realizes that had he been this forthcoming in the aftermath of that U.S. Open gaffe, the backlash would have been much tamer than it’s been. Instead, it’s opened the door for his critics to ponder whether it’ll affect his legacy.

The notion that Mickelson’s dubious act at Shinnecock should negatively affect his legacy is preposterous.

While he surely has his detractors — who doesn’t? — what Mickelson has done on the course and the way he’s connected with golf fans is what his legacy will be built upon, not a singular loss-of-the-mind moment of petulant frustration.

Mickelson said it’s been “much easier for me to deal with’’ the backlash from his Shinnecock incident “because it was my own fault rather than dealing with somebody else’s decision.

“Throughout my career, 25 years, there have been a lot of times where I have had to be accountable for decisions I did not make,’’ he said. “The reason why this has actually been easier, it was my own fault. Like this was my own fault. You have to be accountable for yourself. I do a lot of dumb stuff.’’