No other golfer has made as many Ryder Cup appearances for Team USA as the 6-time major champion, Phil Mickelson. Lefty’s patriotic journey started three years after he made his debut in 1992. Since then, he has been part of every Ryder Cup until the 2021 edition. In his last start, however, Mickelson was a vice-captain rather than a player. For the 2023 Ryder Cup, he was snubbed from that responsibility as well after his move to the breakaway LIV Golf circuit. He also never got a chance to play in the Olympics as it only started in 2016 and Mickelson could never qualify for it.
Despite all this, the 45-time PGA Tour winner has been a forceful player for Team USA against the Europeans, whether on the greens or at the press conferences. Over his 12 appearances, Mickelson has created some memorable moments, starting from the 1995 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill Country Club. It was his Ryder Cup debut, and he became the only unbeaten player with a record of 3-0-0, although it wasn’t enough to secure victory for the USA. In the following edition, Team Europe emerged victorious again, with Lefty having a record of 1-1-2.
However, in 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, the 6-time major winner lifted the Ryder Cup for the first time with his team. Mickelson was 2-0-0, clinching a crucial point for Team USA in Sunday Singles by defeating Jarmo Sandelin 4&3 and celebrating the win. It took another eight years for Lefty to celebrate a Ryder Cup win with Team USA again. After three consecutive crushing losses to the Europeans, the Americans were determined to win the cup at Valhalla Golf Club in 2008.
via Reuters
That year, Mickelson was a bit unlucky, earning only one point in the first-day four-ball session against Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell. Paired against Justin Rose for the singles, Lefty was defeated 3&2, but Team America still won with a 16.5 to 11.5 scoreline. That was the last time Mickelson ever won as a player for Team USA. But as a vice-captain, he assisted the Americans to an incredible victory at Whistling Straits, marking his last appearance at the Ryder Cup.
Indeed, Mickelson has been a fixture on the USA Ryder Cup side and an asset to the team. While holding a record for winning the most US four-ball points (9) and playing the most overall matches (47), there is one daunting record in Mickelson’s Ryder Cup career.
The ‘blot’ in Phil Mickelson’s Ryder Cup career
In the dozens of times representing Team USA, Phil Mickelson has been with Team USA for only three wins but nine losses. And his losing record doesn’t end there. During the 2014 Ryder Cup, Mickelson was reminded of this ‘blot’ by a European journalist, noting that he holds the record for the most losses in Ryder Cup history with 22 defeats.
The 6-time major winner couldn’t call his record a blot as the reporter did but said he would want the records to improve. He was pressed and asked further if the losing record stung, but Mickelson was untouched by it. He instead tried to look on the other side, saying, “Absolutely, I would like to improve my record. That’s certainly a goal. It doesn’t take too much to improve my winning percentage, I’ll say that.” Surely, Mickelson needed only four more wins to match the losing streak and have equal numbers of wins and losses.
However, he was unable to achieve this and might never be able to remove that tag from his career. Even if he enters the Ryder Cup as a vice-captain in the future, he may never play as a pro again. Thus, while Mickelson has been an important golfer in Team USA’s Ryder Cup campaigns for the past two decades, his legacy might not grow further as he now plays at LIV Golf.
