Some things never get old. The Champions dinner before the Masters, for example, and Phil Mickelson somehow ending up on the wrong side once again. Last year, reports emerged that Lefty was unusually quiet during the dinner. Uncharacteristic, yes. But the tensions were heavy in April last year. This year, though, the mood looks more jovial.

As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf work on the framework agreement, golfers on both sides aim to resolve their differences. Yet, Mickelson looks to be in constant ‘terror,’ fans point out.

Phil Mickelson looks much older than Nick Faldo

With a broad smile on his face, Lefty stood in the back row between Nick Faldo and Sergio Garcia. Mickelson, though, looked much older than the Brit standing right next to him, despite being 13 years younger. Fans wondered what might be bogging him down ahead of the 2024 Masters. Notably, Mickelson’s name was also missing from the pre-Masters press conference.

Mickelson’s absence in the press conference shouldn’t really come as a surprise, however. Instead, it is actually a repeat episode. Last year, Sports Illustrated reported that his absence in the 2023 pre-Masters presser wasn’t on account of the PGA Tour disinviting him; instead, Mickelson declined the offer himself. In 2022, Mickelson decided to take a break that was later owed to his involvement with LIV Golf during its early days. The Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley then commented,

“We did not disinvite Phil. He is a three-time Masters champion … Phil reached out to me, I think in late February, early March and let me know he did not intend to play. That was by way of text. I thanked him for his courtesy of letting me know.” This was just days after his controversial statements about LIV Golf were reported by Alan Shipnuck.

Moreover, Phil Mickelson was uncharacteristically silent at the 2023 Champions Dinner. The conversation didn’t veer around the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide. Yet Lefty was visibly uncomfortable, sitting silently in the corner. Fuzzy Zoeller, the last debutant to don the Green Jacket, told The Augusta Chronicle, “We’re just 33 past champions in a room, all trying to get along. Nobody said a word about it [LIV Golf]. Phil sat near the end of the table and kept to himself. He didn’t speak at all.”

The situation was more tense last year. The June 6 merger announcement was not in sight. Until then, both parties were involved in court wrangling. There might have been heavy air hanging around the dinner table. Although that’s not the case anymore, fans believe Phil Mickelson is still under a lot of pressure.

LIV Golf has taken a toll on Lefty’s health, fans proclaim

Fans can’t believe it’s the same person who made a spectacular late charge last year to tie for the second spot. Mickelson also became the oldest major winner in 2021. The noticeable change in his appearance is dramatic. One fan wrote, “I don’t know what the Saudi’s have been doing to Phil’s face, but in five years he is going to be nothing but a shrunken head at this rate.” Another fan commented, “What they feeding these guys on the LIV tour?”

There are enough reasons for Mickelson to look concerned. He is working with a new caddie after his brother retired. His game hasn’t looked sharp enough. And, most importantly, it’s a venue where he has consistently performed well, and expectations are always higher when the 45-time PGA Tour winner tees up at Augusta. One fan feels Mickelson looks “older than Joe Biden.” Another fan, too, compared him with the POTUS. The same zoomed-in picture got another comment, “Please Somebody get me a cheeseburger.”

Let’s not forget that Mickelson was in the thick of it all after his controversial comments regarding PIF officials were published by Alan Shipnuck back in 2022. On Feb 16, Mickelson was even reported to say in The Fire Pit Collective, “They’re scary m*****f***ers to get involved with.”

Although he has since apologized and claimed he was misinterpreted on many occasions, this fan feels Mickelson lives under constant terror.

Every photo Mickelson has been in since he’s joined LIV feels like he can tell the exact moment you will perish. Constant terror on his face https://t.co/UBLRpAuoUD

— Patrick Berryman (@peajbe) April 10, 2024

Phil Mickelson will tee up with Sepp Straka and Tony Finau at 9.36 AM ET on Thursday and 12.48 PM ET on Friday. We have to wait till then to know if, indeed, the six-time Major winner has grown older than he should’ve been in a year.