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Phil Mickelson has issued a withering assessment of his performances year – but warned that he is desperate to return to his best in 2020.

Since winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his 44th victory on the PGA Tour, the five-time major winner has endured a torrid run of form.

He has missed eight cuts in his 19 starts since that win, managing only one top-20 – a tie for 18th at the Masters.

Consequently, he is on the brink of falling out of the top-50 on the world rankings for the first time since current world No.1 Brooks Koepka was three-years-old.

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He now stands to miss out on playing in the Presidents Cup for the first time. The left-hander has played in every edition of the match since its introduction in 1994.

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Indeed, he has played on every American Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team since that year, a streak of 23 consecutive appearances for his country.

He could still make this year’s US side if picked by captain Tiger Woods but, speaking ahead of this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions, he seemed resigned to missing out.

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“I’ve played terribly this year, and even if I were to win this week, I do not deserve or warrant a pick for the Presidents Cup,” said Mickelson. “There are much better players who have played better throughout the year, and so I won’t be on the team this year. But I intend to come back strong, play well and get back on the Ryder Cup team next year.”

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Asked to explain the reasons for his drastic drop in form, the 49-year-old said: “I don’t really want to go into details. I just haven’t played well. Just had a lot of stuff going on, and I just haven’t been really focused and into the mental side. I haven’t seen good clear pictures.

“I haven’t been as committed and as connected to the target. I just haven’t been mentally as sharp the last six, eight months.”

topics

Phil Mickelson PGA Tour Presidents Cup Tiger Woods OWGR World Rankings AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor