Phil Mickelson upstages the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy show at the Masters

M asters week in April is always a long one in Augusta. The Monday before the major, all the talk around the course was about Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were out playing a practice round together. Whether it really was or not, their pairing felt like a pointed rejoinder to the LIV golfers who were still arriving at the course. Woods and McIlroy aren’t just the two biggest names in the game, but the two most outspoken critics of the breakaway tour. And here they were, taking ownership of the biggest stage.

Augusta National is a spacious place, but when Woods and McIlroy are out and about there’s not a lot of room left for anyone else.

Phil Mickelson hadn’t even turned up yet. He arrived a day later, when Woods and McIlroy dominated the agenda again with their pre-tournament press conferences. Usually Mickelson would do one too, but not this year. He cut a strange, and solitary figure, he gave one short, jittery interview in which he repeatedly insisted how brilliant everything was. “Everyone has been wonderful.Everybody here is so classy. Gosh, it’s fun to be here.” According to other guests at the champions dinner that evening, Mickelson sat at the far end of the table and didn’t talk to anyone.

Since he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2021 and switched across to LIV, Mickelson’s form has been dismal. He’s had two top 20 finishes in 10 tournaments. He’s seemed a little lost, and, to be honest, has come across a little like a man in the throes of a midlife crisis.

Come the Monday after the Masters, all that seems a lot longer than a few days ago. Woods and McIlroy were both missing on Sunday evening, exit stage left, and so far as anyone was talking about either of them, it was to wonder, or worry,