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Phil Mickelson ‘not sold’ on armlock putting grip after shaky round one

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If there has been one constant through Phil Mickelson’s 30-plus-year professional golf career, it’s that he has never been afraid of tinkering.

Even at the tender age of 51, the recent PGA Championship winner was spotted on the practice green this week experimenting with a different putting style. Sure enough, in round one of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Mickelson tested out the infamous armlock putting grip.

Prior to Thursday’s round, Mickelson was seen working with professional putting coach Derek Uyeda, who also works with Xander Schauffele, amongst others.

Many may remember Xander Schauffele’s failed armlock experiment earlier this year. Schauffele struggled with the armlock during the U.S. Open, and then made a switch after his second round of the Scottish Open to his normal putting grip. Only two starts later, he won an Olympic Gold Medal.

Per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today and Golfweek, Mickelson commented:”When you’re trying to get better, you have to take risks. And you have to try it out in competition.”

It is perfectly understandable that the 45-time PGA Tour winner would be searching for answers, as he has failed to finish inside the top-60 of a tournament in five starts since winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Similar to Schauffele however, the armlock experiment got off to a rocky start.

Mickelson lost 1.3 strokes putting on Thursday, ranking 54th out of 66 players in the field. After the round, Mickelson commented (again per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today and Golfweek)

“I’m not sold on it. I haven’t tried it out long enough to talk about it. I’m just trying to figure it out, the things I like about it and the things I don’t.”

The six-time major champion was seen grinding on the putting green with Uyeda for nearly two hours after the completion of his first round. It remains to be seen what grip Mickelson will employ for his second round.

Mickelson tees off at 11:21 a.m. eastern time, along with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Adam Scott.

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19th Hole

“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene

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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”

In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.

Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”

“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”

“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”

 

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A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen)


Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.

If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’

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While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.

“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”

Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.

“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”

The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.

“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).

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Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

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While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

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