Phil Mickelson stuns golf fans as LIV player reveals DRAMATIC weight loss

Phil Mickelson has revealed he has dropped more than 20lbs as the LIV Golf League player admitted he was "embarrassed" by his golf performances in 2022.

Ben Smith

31 Jan 2023

Phil Mickelson stuns golf fans as LIV player reveals DRAMATIC weight loss

Phil Mickelson has revealed he's back down to his college weight as the de facto leader of the LIV Golf League admitted he was "embarrassed" by his level of play during a chaotic year that saw him withdraw from the spotlight.

Mickelson, 52, joined the media in Jeddah on Tuesday ahead of the PIF Saudi International where he opened up on a number of topics.

One of those was Rory McIlroy's showdown with Patrick Reed. The Northern Irishman pipped the American by one to victory in Dubai then hailed the "sweet" victory of beating his rival.

Mickelson explained the fact their rivalry had intensified earlier in the week made their duel so much more compelling.

Elsewhere, Mickelson expressed the confidence that LIV Golfers will prevail in their sports arbitration case against the DP World Tour next week.

Should that happen, Mickelson believes a number of breakaway tour players will flock to the European-based circuit.

Another topic was Mickelson's dramatic weight loss.

The six-time major champ revealed to SI's Bob Harig that he has dropped more than 20lbs in the off-season.

Mickelson refused to go into detail on Tuesday, but said:

"It's my college weight. We don't need to go to numbers, but I'm back to where I was when I turned pro. That's the first time that's happened."

See what Mickelson looks like now:

Phil Mickelson told @BobHarig earlier this week: “I’m down to my college weight.” This photo seems to be visual proof of that. pic.twitter.com/vjqj43VLfg
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) January 31, 2023

His appearance shocked golf fans.

pic.twitter.com/FclvpSpmMX
— Phil Mickelson Tracker (@TrackingPhil) January 31, 2023

Let's take a look at a selection of comments:

"Back to butt chugging coffee I see"

"Lots of Christian Bale in the Machinist vibes"

"But he looks 70"

"Skeletor vibes"

"Can he go back to his college attire also?"

"Is he melting?"

"Tell me it's been a rough year without telling me it's been a rough year"

"Just because you get that Saudi money, doesn't mean you can't LIV your life to the fullest"

"Has he forsaken food for just his coffee?"

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Mickelson told SI:

"I'm stronger than I've probably been in my career. I lost 20-plus pounds. I'm flexible, recovering faster, ready to go. Now I probably wanted to start in Mexico. I probably wanted like three more weeks [off]. I'm actually going to play a lot of events. I'm playing 19 events and I only decided to go to Saudi recently. I really want to be ready by Mexico. I'm close to where I want to be."

Elsewhere, Mickelson revealed that he simply wasn't ready to play in 2022.

Mickelson spent four months away from the game after his jaw-dropping comments about LIV's Saudi financiers were made public.

Lefty said that, compared to where his game was this time last year, it's "night and day".

He added:

"I have to look at last year as an anomaly and just let it go. I wasn't ready to play at the start, I wasn't ready to play during, and this off-season I'm ready to play.

"I've been playing really well at home, and I'm ready to bring my game back out here and compete.

"I think we're -- I'm optimistic to see a whole different outlook, a whole different game, a whole different competitiveness."

Mickelson continued:

"I think I'm going to be able to play at a higher level consistently with some of the changes I've made, allowing myself to recover better, changing things that I eat, changing my recovery time, changing my practice pattern.

"I've had to make a lot of adjustments as I've gotten older to get back to that level. I'm embarrassed with how I played last year. I'm going to put that behind me and have a really good year."

Next page: Jon Rahm defends Phil Mickelson