Phil and friends: Mickelson ready to host and play in American Express

For one of the first times in his long and successful career on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson has been thinking about something other than his golf game in the days leading up to the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta this week.

“I have to make sure that I’m ready when I get here, that I’m not going to find my game here because there’s some responsibilities,” said Mickelson, who takes on the job as host of the 61st American Express this week.

A two-time winner of the tournament and a runner-up in the event last year, Mickelson is expanding his role in the desert after three years as the ambassador of the event, a behind-the-scenes job to talk the tournament up to fellow players.

Now Mickelson is not only the face of the tournament, the newly created Phil Mickelson Foundation is the new charitable arm of the event. A day before the tournament begins Thursday, Mickelson seemed to be embracing his hosting duties.

“I want to make sure it’s the first-class experience for everybody here, that the CEOs that we have brought in, that the people we have brought in have a great experience," Mickelson said. “So I’m spending a little more time making sure that the week goes well for everybody.”

Starting Thursday, Mickelson can concentrate on making sure the week goes well for him on the golf course as well. Mickelson leads a field of 156 pros and 156 amateurs teeing off at three desert courses. In addition to La Quinta Country Club, where Mickelson will start Thursday, play will begin at the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Stadium Course at PGA West.

Play begins at 8:30 a.m. on the first and 10th tees of all three courses, with two professionals and two amateurs in each foursome for the first three days of the event. Sunday’s final round will be played at the Stadium Course.

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With Mickelson as host, the tournament also features American Express as the new title sponsor after the event was played without a title sponsor in 2019. The event’s purse also has been increased to $6.7 million, up from $5.9 million last year.

In addition to Mickelson, the field features defending champion Adam Long, who edged Mickelson by one shot last year thanks to a 13-foot birdie putt on the final hole. The field features nine of the top 40 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, including Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari and Rickie Fowler, all in the top 25 of the rankings.

With the early part of the week about Mickelson’s hosting duties, he had to take last week to work on a game that he believes can still win on the PGA Tour, even as he stares down his 50th birthday in June.

“I had to spend the last seven, 10 days working with (swing coach) Andrew Getz and (short-game coach) Dave Pelz getting my game sharp so that I’m ready when I get here,” Mickelson said. “I think I am, but you don’t know until you tee it up. You really don’t know.”

Mickelson is coming off what he admits was a disappointing year for him after he finished second in the American Express and then won at the AT&T Pebble Beach tournament for his 44th career win. His world ranking dropped below No. 50 for the first time in 25 years and he didn’t play his way onto the U.S. Presidents Cup team, ending a more than two-decade streak of playing on either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.

“I had a great off season,” Mickelson said. “I’m excited to start the year. I’m curious as probably anybody is to see how well I play. I think I’ve tried to address a lot of weaknesses or areas that needed to improve and my motivation is back. This it the best I’ve felt in years, maybe even decades.”

Even as he looks at keeping up with the kids on the PGA Tour and “hitting bombs,” as Mickelson says on social media, there are questions about what Mickelson might do in six months when he turns 50 and is eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. For now, Mickelson is putting a senior tour on the back burner.

“I haven’t thought too much about it and I won’t until I see how the first six months of this year go, because I’ve had this, I’ve had kind of a lot of great things happen that lead me to be encouraged about the next year,” Mickelson said.

When will Mickelson get serious about senior golf?

“When I stop hitting bombs, I’ll play the Champions tour, but I’m hitting some crazy bombs now,” he laughed.

Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @Larry_bBohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Desert Sun.