To hear Thomas tell it, the trouble started around the fourth green.
“The fourth hole…is a hard dogleg left. You hit the drive down there and long iron and the green’s kind of sitting in a bowl, and just to the right of the green is a little crevice.We both hit it right next to each other.”
This is where the story gets interesting. With his ball lying in the collection area and the green sloping away from him, Thomas couldn’t decide what type of shot to play. “I couldn’t figure out how to play it. If I wanted to kind of skip one and spin it, go up, putt it — whatever.”
Unsure of what to do, Thomas went the safe route, choosing to putt his ball onto the green — and the result was pretty good.
Then it was Mickelson’s turn. Being the short game wizard that he is, Mickelson chose a more challenging flop shot that landed just outside of Thomas’ ball.
“You just grabbed a 64, took full earth-bunker divot all over the green, straight up in the air, popped down just a little outside of mine,” Thomas recalled to Mickelson.
With Lefty’s ball sitting just outside of his own, Thomas felt comfortable tossing some shade his way.
“We weren’t as close as we are now, but I know you like to talk smack, so I said, ‘Nice shot Phil, just a little bit outside of mine.’”
Mickelson looked right at Thomas. “Yeah, my dad would’ve putted that one too,” he said, and walked away.
You can watch the complete (and hilarious) episode of Phireside with Phil below.
While Phil’s game lacked a bit of punch late in the season, it’s clear his ability to drop mics is still as sharp as ever. We can’t wait for his next Phireside chat.
