The Internet Is Freaking Out Again Over Phil Mickelson; You Won’t Believe Why This Time

Phil Mickelson had an early tee time at St. Andrews on Thursday and took advantage of the calm conditions, shooting an even-par 72 in the opening round of the 150^th Open Championship.

Since Mickelson teed off at 2:30 a.m. eastern time, he didn’t appear on the U.S. telecast that often, but that didn’t stop fans from being critical of the 2013 Open Championship winner—something that has turned into something of a spectator sport for much of this year.

After having lost his sponsors, Mickelson has played the role of “the bad guy” to a T: dressing head-to-toe in black, facial hair for the first time in his career, and mirrored aviators.

Golf purists noticed one other thing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Egads! Mickelson, the prodigal son of the sport, not wearing a collared shirt at the “Home of Golf.”

Outside of the usual “Who cares!” comments, some of the other fan sentiment is a bit amusing.

One commenter said to “Let the man LIV.” Another fan mentioned, “I don’t know why and I know it shouldn’t, but this bothers me coming from him.”

@PhilMickelson is bringing the Hollywood Hogan energy to #TheOpen and I’m here for it. The Phil heel turn is my favorite golf development of 2022 and I hope he’s in contention on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/qLAl8AsI1h

— Jonathan Reynolds (@PreachJonathan) July 14, 2022

Phil Mickelson is dressed like he just got off of Logan Roy’s helicopter in the Hamptons with the big deal in peril. pic.twitter.com/fjWSuJQdmw

— Kyle Koster (@KyleKoster) July 14, 2022

Further down the comments, another player’s attire was singled out, saying, “Should be more worried about Justin Thomas’s ankle-biter tracksuit pants.”

Yes, Thomas marked the occasion by wearing jogger pants that looked like they either were shrunk in the wash or needed to be worn with long socks.

The PGA Tour’s official Twitter noted the unique look:

Sports fans, what do we think? @JustinThomas34 pic.twitter.com/514EYjsjiu

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2022

For many reasons, Friday will be an interesting day at St. Andrews!

Cover Image Via Twitter