Brett Carlsen

By John Strege
Winning does not necessarily beget winning, though it is a reliable inducement to continue the chase, and toward that end, Phil Mickelson has committed to playing in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Va., next week.

It will be Mickelson’s second PGA Tour Champions start. He won his senior debut, in the Charles Schwab Series in August, two months after turning 50.

“We are thrilled that Phil Mickelson, one of the game’s most accomplished and popular players, has committed to the 2020 Dominion Energy Charity Classic,” the tournament’s executive director Steve Schoenfeld said. “His presence will bring another layer of excitement and energy to the tournament, especially for our fans watching around the world on Golf Channel.”

Though he began 2020 optimistically, his year has been wildly uneven. In January, he would not commit to playing any senior events and instead talked enthusiastically about making the U.S. Ryder Cup team (the Ryder Cup has been postponed).

“When I stop hitting bombs I’ll play the Champions Tour, but I’m hitting some crazy bombs right now,” he said then. “No, I still have speed. There’s no reason I couldn’t play out here [on the PGA Tour].”

Mickelson finished third in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February, then missed two straight cuts before the PGA Tour was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. When play resumed in June, he struggled until tying for second in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August.

A week later, he tied for 71st in the PGA Championship and a month after that missed the cut in the U.S. Open. The senior tour, meanwhile, obviously is friendlier than the PGA Tour to those who turn 50, to wit, Jim Furyk winning his first two PGA Tour Champions starts.