A year ago, literally to the day — June 8, 2022 — Phil Mickelson stepped up to a microphone for the first time in months, making his first public appearance since going into golf exile. He looked gaunt, unshaven, even shell-shocked. The fan-friendly everyman persona was gone, replaced with a chastened, sober shell of a man.
What a difference a year makes.
Early in 2022, Mickelson’s reputation vaporized in nuclear heat after he called out the Saudi Arabian ruling regime as “scary mother[expletive]s” ... while simultaneously suggesting that murder and homophobia were a reasonable price to pay to reshape a professional golf tour.