“Even I was a little bit surprised” – Phil Mickelson gets real about shot that had fans in awe at LIV Virginia

Phil Mickelson finished T4 at LIV Golf Virginia, two strokes behind leader Joaquin Niemann at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville. Interestingly, the 54-year-old’s final round on Sunday was highlighted by a single shot. The six-time major champ made a flop shot standing sideways in the bunker, with his back to the pin.

Lefty, trying to salvage a shot from the rough outside the bank of a bunker, opened the clubface of his wedge. He holed the shot for birdie and had audiences in awe of the near-perfect stroke. Following his round, the ace golfer came out to reveal that even he was “a little bit surprised” by the hole out. The HyFlyers skipper dubbed it ‘one of his better ones’ after admitting it ‘hard’ to judge.

Speaking about the shot at 17 in his post-round presser, Phil Mickelson said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“So that was one of my better ones. It was one of my better ones. I don't know what to say because I have to aim so far left because I'm hooking it over my shoulder and trying to guess how much it's going to hook is the challenge. But it wasn't hard stopping it.

It was hard guessing how much it was going to hook because it was soft greens and I had such an uphill lie, the ball was going to go high, but just judging how much the ball was going to come over my shoulder, that was the challenge. Even I was a little bit surprised.”

He lauded the “great and supportive” fans at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The former PGA Tour pro said he ‘loved’ being playing at the venue.

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Phil Mickelson elated after the 'magical' shot

Phil Mickelson shot 67-68-65 in Virginia to tie for fourth place at 13 under par. The 54-year-old admitted having a ‘couple of unfortunate breaks’ and added that the shot at 17 ‘excited’ him. The golfer, who said the upcoming US Open could be his last major outing, said he would love to have a few more ‘winning opportunities’ this year.

Phil Mickelson added:

“It meant a lot to me because I wanted to finish this round off -- I had opportunities to make birdie, and I just had a couple of unfortunate breaks. So, to get a good break like that and then to follow it up with a birdie on 18 feels really good. Like I said, just having opportunities to compete and win again is what's so exciting. I would love to have a few more this year and hopefully break through and get one.”

Phil Mickelson also took to his social media to comment on his awe-worthy flop shot. The ace golfer revealed that he “worked on this shot” before coming to Virginia. He later replied to LIV Golf’s tweet praising the shot and called it “just a little sprinkle of magic to end the weekend.”

Despite having made several shots like this in the past, seemed elated to have made this particular one at the Robert Trent Jones GC. Notably, his team finished eighth in the event.