Phil Mickelson is Now Sponsoring His Own PGA Event

As golfers continue to get older and they become less competitive than they once were, they often look for other ways to stay involved in the game of golf and continue making an impact on golf. Phil Mickelson, while certainly not done playing yet, is already looking towards that future.

It was announced this week that Lefty will now be the new sponsor for the PGA TOUR’s event called the “American Express.” This event, formerly the Bob Hope Classic, will begin play in just a few months, kicking off January 16th, 2020.

Mickelson, who has helped culminate the event behind the scenes in recent years, is now taking center stage to run the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“It’s always been an important part of my life. I would come out here and play junior tournaments here,” Mickelson told the Desert Sun. “I’ve always been passionate about here, and I love the tournament itself. But more than that, this tournament has meant historically a lot to this area, and I want to bring back the vision of Bob Hope.”

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In his first step as the event’s official sponsor, Mickelson is hoping to broaden types of players that sign up for the event. The American Express is set to have 156 PGA TOUR professionals and 156 amateurs compete on three courses in La Quinta, California but the problem has been getting a vast depth of players at the event, not just a few big names. Hopefully, an increased purse of $67 million will help attract stiffer competition.

As for Mickelson, he should be hoping that this will give him new life as he comes back for 2020. To end the 2018-19 season, Phil missed the cut in half of the tournaments he played in and so far this season, he’s only put up one finish in the top-30. This is also the first time in 26 years that Phil isn’t ranked within the top 50 players in the world, so something will need to change to get Mickelson back on track.

Perhaps the American Express will help Phil in the future and in the present, as he’s won this event at La Quinta on two separate occasions. But even if he doesn’t win on the course, it will be interesting to see what type of tournament Mickelson can put together for us in January.

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