Phil Mickelson: “I have played terribly this year”

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.”