Phil Mickelson has talked a lot about his newfound focus this week, even saying he’s been playing 36 and 45 holes during his off time so he can be more concentrated when he has to play only 18. Early in his third round of the PGA Championship, which he began with a share of the lead, that hard work appears to be paying off.
Not only is Mickelson off to a great start, having made birdies on the second and third holes, he’s extremely present on each shot. This was blatantly obvious at the par-4 fourth, where Mickelson had 187 yards into the hole with 12-mph of wind in his face. As he addressed the ball and prepared to hit, though, he stepped away, noticing a drone in the sky in his line of sight. Lefty was having absolutely none of that.
“Can we move that drone from my flight?” Mickelson could be overheard saying on the broadcast with his hand on his hip. “Are you serious?”
Considering the person controlling the drone was nowhere to be found, Mickelson had no idea if anyone was actually listening to his requests.
“Can you radio to the TV guys to move the drone out of my shot?” he asked one of the guys holding a mic nearby. “Not only is it annoying, but it’s going to hit it.”
Backing off a shot because there is a drone up in the sky, and thinking you’re going to actually hit it, is a level of locked in we haven’t seen from FIGJAM in some time. Hey, it’s hard to blame him. This is serious stuff, and Mickelson is clearly leaving nothing to chance this weekend.
Mickelson wound up missing the green, then getting up and down for par like he so often does. Not even a rogue drone can stop him this week.
