All good things must come to an end. The 2024 LIV Golf season is the same, with its team championship set to witness an end on September 22, Sunday. But when the season kicked off its last few days, the fans were left quite surprised. And it was all thanks to none other than Phil Mickelson and his new look in Dallas. The golfer’s admirers, meanwhile, didn’t take the transformation too well as they were left shocked, to say the least, after spotting his drastic weight loss on the greens.

A tweet was shared on X by various handles, including MYGOLFSPY, showcasing the LIV Golf pro’s new look at the Maridoe Golf Club during the first day of the Team Championship. The golfer and his team, HyFlyers GC, had been matched up against Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC. The ‘Lefty’ had teamed up with Brendan Steele against Carlos Ortiz and Mito Pereira for the foursomes.

His luck wasn’t all bad on the first day of the Team Championship. Fortunately for the golfer, his team managed to garner two points against Niemann’s squad, with Cameron Tringale emerging victorious against Sebastian Munoz and the skipper against the Torque GC duo. But despite the success he garnered in Dallas on the first day, Mickelson’s new look didn’t fail to elicit words of concern in the community.

Phil Mickelson’s Dallas look worries the golf world

Controversy used to follow the golfer wherever he went at a point in time. And it was all thanks to his gambling addictions, that dominated the headlines during the same. In “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk,” by Billy Walters, the author, who was also Mickelson’s friend divulged how the athlete had lost more than $100 million in betting, not to mention his bet on the Ryder Cup. A fan recounted all those memories as he alluded to his gambling days while dishing out a comment along the same lines: “Def gambling again.” 

The HyFlyers skipper hasn’t had much success after joining LIV Golf. He has only finished a total of three times inside the top 10 in an event on the Saudi-backed league: at the 2022 Chicago, the 2023 Bedminster, and the 2024 Jeddah events. Coupled with the recent new look, a user took to issue a jab at the 54-year-old golfer and his age: “The midlife crisis that won’t end.” Another follower also agreed with them as they commented, “He’s been going through a midlife crisis for about 5 years now.”

The left-handed golfer has had his fair share of injuries, be it a sports hernia for which he had surgery back in 2016, or his psoriatic arthritis, with which he was diagnosed a decade ago. A concerned fan couldn’t help but be reminded of the same as they asked if the athlete was suffering from anything else: “Why does he wear glasses all the time now? Does he have an eye issue?”

Anyhow, Phil Mickelson and his team sure did prove themselves on the greens during the first round. Now, the athlete is set to tee off against the likes of Jon Rahm and his squad, Legion XIII GC. Cameron Tringale will face the Spaniard while Andy Ogletree will face Tyrrell Hatton in singles. Mickelson, meanwhile, will team up with Steele to tee off against Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent in the foursomes. Seems like a tough road ahead? Well, that is exactly what a fan was also worried about as they asked, “What have they done to you @PhilMickelson? Blink twice if you’re not ok.”

Looks like he just can’t seem to get a break! Regardless, the 54-year-old would be hoping to lead his team to victory in the upcoming two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. And for that, he needs to beat the dominating Rahm & Co. Will he be able to do it? The fans would certainly hope so!