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Phil Mickelson does not sound confident about Phil Mickelson's chances at the Safeway Open
In the last nine weeks, Phil Mickelson has played in seven events, including the Ryder Cup, where he performed dreadfully at Le Golf National, failing to win a match and struggling to find a fairway. Before he gets some much needed time off though, Mickelson will make his 2018-'19 season debut this week at the Safeway Open. We'd assume he's absolutely exhausted, but we don't even have to considering he told Golf Channel's George Savaricas as much.
Based on his play in France, plus the plane ride to Napa, expecting much from Lefty this week would be foolish. However, there's an argument to be made that Mickelson could play well this week. In his only two starts in the Safeway Open, he's finished T-3 and T-8, never posting a score higher than 70 in those eight rounds. And are we sure he's that tired? He played a total of 30 holes in France, getting an entire day off in between matches. Also, isn't it possible he'll be motivated after playing so poorly last week, and subsequently getting crushed by everyone because of it. Phil has never been one to back down from a challenge.
And yet Mickelson seemed to toss that argument out the window at 100-mph during the Wednesday Pro-Am at Silverado Resort & Spa when a fan taking a video asked him if he should have Mickelson in his DraftKings lineup this week. Phil's classic response would suggest he doesn't feel confident about his chances in Napa:
Not a good sign indeed. That's the response of a man who is very much looking forward to a trunk slam in the parking lot on Friday afternoon following a pair of 73s. At least we still got the trademark thumbs up, so we know he's in good spirits.