The Growth Mindset
How Mindfulness helped Phil Mickelson make sports history.
Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major tournament championship. Mickelson is a few weeks shy of his 51st birthday. I really enjoyed watching Mickelson make his way around a very tough Kiawah Ocean course. There are not very many active professional athletes who are older than I am. So it was great to see that at 47 I still have a few years to improve my golf game enough to make a run at a major (editor’s note: No, Not a chance. None. Zero.) or at least become a decent golfer (editor’s note: again wishful thinking). I have always found Phil to be entertaining to watch on the golf course, his creativity around the greens and ability to “activate his calves and hit huge bombs” has made him a fan favourite and one of the best players in PGA history. He has always played aggressively and it has paid off as he has won winning six majors. His aggression also has led to some spectacular failures. The 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot is probably the most famous. Mickelson headed to the 18th tee needing a par to complete the grand slam and his third major in a row. The next ten minutes were painful to watch as Mickelson attempted several shots in an effort to rescue a par after a wayward tee shot. His go for broke style cost him as he ended up with a double bogey. Geoff Ogilvy walked way with the trophy and Mickelson uttered his famous quote “I am such an idiot” that has stayed with him ever since.
Fast forward to 2021. Phil has become an elder statesman on tour who still draws a crowd at most events but has not been as competitive in recent years. He entered the 2021 PGA Championship as a 125 to 1 long shot with the attention on the younger players like Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka who have emerged in recent years. Mickelson took the lead on Saturday and did not relinquish despite tough conditions, a huge gallery and a ton of pressure. Mickelson handled the ups and downs of the round and came home with a two stroke victory. The collapses and mistakes that have cost him in the past were not to be seen. Instead Mickelson played the round with a zen like calm that was not characteristic of his past performance in major championships. What changed that allowed Phil to remain calm throughout this round? There were a few telltale signs that Mickelson approached this tournament with a real Mindful approach.
- Breathing: Phil was really intentional about making sure he was taking a lot of deep cleansing breaths as part of his pre and post shot routine. This is a great way for any athlete to handle the ups and downs of competition. Phil was working really hard to control his levels of adrenaline. Taking a 10 second breath, where you inhale deeply for four seconds and slowly exhale for 7 seconds helps send important messages to the brain and body. It communicates to the brain and body that you are safe which leads to less muscle tension and improved decision making. I went back and watched the 18th hole of the 2006 US Open and this practice was not part of Phil’s routine (at least as far as I could tell).
Being Present: I really noticed how present Mickelson was during the whole round. He was very intentional and committed to his breathing routine and was locked in with his caddie all day. It was interesting to be able to hear his conversations with Tim his brother who works as his caddie. They were focused only on the next shot, not on the scoreboard or who was trailing. Tim talked after the tournament about how his brother played all week with a zen like calm. I am sure that somewhere in his mind Phil had to realize what he was doing was historically unprecedented and instead of allowing this to create pressure it seemed like Mickelson was soaking up every minute of it. As he walked up the 18th fairway he was surrounded by a chaotic scene as fans surrounded them, you can see the calm that Mickelson embodies calm. He clearly followed his caddies advice to “keep his mind quiet”.
Acceptance: One of the areas of Mindfulness that is not always focused on is accepting what has happened. Phil has won 46 times on the PGA tour and has had some memorable flameouts like the 2006 U.S. Open. He sent out a tweet last week before the tournament that showed how much Phil has grown to accept all that has happened in his career. He has realized that all has happened in his career has led him to this point. Having this acceptance helps athletes become more resilient. Resilient athletes are able to avoid getting too high after good performances or too low after bad performances. They know that it all contributes to who they are.
This video shows all the phases of mindfulness that Mickelson goes through. He hits a great second shot on 18 that almost guarantees a victory and he is surrounded by the gallery and shows no emotion but goes back to his process and takes several deep cleansing breaths. This championship is a great testament to all the hard work physically that Phil has done to stay physically capable of playing championship golf but I think his win this week was such a great example of the power of mindfulness.
