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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — At times Tuesday, it was hard to tell if Phil Mickelson was a promoter for the PGA Tour or a contender for the PGA Championship.
During his news conference in advance of the season's last major, Mickelson insisted he'd already won a major this year — The Players Championship — and talked more than once about how excited he was for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which debut in two weeks.
Although that must make tour commissioner Tim Finchem happy, it's still hard know what "Fans of Phil" who show up at steamy Southern Hills this week should expect from the injured star.
Mickelson conceded his left wrist is still less than 100 percent. But he said he has been cleared to practice and no longer needs to apply a substance on the wrist to numb the pain.
A player who used to prepare for some majors, like last year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot, over the span of weeks and months, now finds encouragement in being able to practice more over the last several days.
"I've been able to put more time in my game now in the last week or two than I have in the last three months," Mickelson said. "And so I'm really excited about getting back out and playing. I'm excited about the upcoming FedEx Cup Series, but especially excited about trying to play well here at Southern Hills."
Southern Hills has been good to Lefty. He finished third at the PGA here in 1994 and tied for seventh at the 2001 U.S. Open.
But he wasn't injured then. His experiences so far this year when playing at less than 100 percent have been bad.
He hurt his wrist Memorial Day weekend, practicing for the U.S. Open. He missed the cut at Oakmont in June, at the AT&T National in July, then once more later in the month at the British. It marked the first time he'd missed three straight cuts on tour since 1995. A 46th-place finish last week at Bridgestone marks the only time he's cashed a check on the tour this summer.
In between all that, he hit a pair of awful drives on No. 18 in the Scottish Open — once in regulation, then again in a playoff — to give away a victory there. Besides that, he hasn't been competitive.
He thinks things are getting better for this week. Not all the way back, but better.
