PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 19, 2023

Phil Mickelson

Oak Hill Country Club

Quick Quotes

PHIL MICKELSON: It's a great setup. It's one of the best I've seen.

Q. What makes this golf course so hard in your mind?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's just a good, hard, fair test. What I really like about it is a lot of the greens are open in front. You can run a shot up if you get in a little bit of trouble, which I think makes it very fair. I think it's an incredible test.

Q. How would you assess your round after doing so well at the Masters and now here?

PHIL MICKELSON: I came in here very optimistic. The first two days I've played terrible. I've driven it poorly. I've not felt good with the putter. I haven't chipped great. My irons have been average. It makes me optimistic that I still made the cut playing as poorly as I did, and I think if I can get it turned around, I can make a run.

Q. Did you see this coming from Bryson?

PHIL MICKELSON: Yes.

Q. Why?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's a lot like Winged Foot, open fronts, hit it long, advance it on the green, and he's been playing well.

Q. Do you reflect back and knowing that 28 years ago you were here with the Ryder Cup? This might be among your last competitive rounds here.

PHIL MICKELSON: No, I think this has been a very special place. I had a chance -- this was my fourth championship I've played here. Playing a Ryder Cup here and having it be my first one was very special. It's just a great golf course and a great place to play. I really enjoy it.

Q. What happened on No. 6 there? We saw you take a couple drops.

PHIL MICKELSON: I ended up hitting it in the hazard and took line-of-sight and came back. I didn't know that they changed the rule this year, whereby you normally could take the point in line and then you have that two-club-length semicircle, and I guess in January they changed that to where you just only get line-of-sight, so the guy came over and saved me a penalty because I had dropped it in the ruling under last year and didn't realize it had been changed, and he came and saved me a stroke, so I was very appreciative.

Q. What's making that hole so difficult today?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think 500 yards into the wind with water up the right and by the green, it just makes for a tough hole.

Q. Is it hard to drive it straight here anyway? It doesn't seem like the driving stats for anybody are that great?

PHIL MICKELSON: The fairways are repellent, but that doesn't -- the rough is fair, and the fairway widths are fair. You've just got to hit good shots. I'm just a fraction off. This is as bad as I've played in a long time, and yet I'm still here on the weekend, and I have a chance to turn it around.

If I get -- the course is there to have a good low number if I play really well, like you saw Patrick Cantlay and he shot 3-under and he could have been another four or five shots lower. I think if I can get -- it's not far off. If I can just get it to click, I have a chance to make a run, but I'm going to have to go work on it right now.

Q. Is that unusual for an official to come over? I thought normally they wouldn't come unless you called them.

PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know. I don't know.