Presidents Cup somehow brought the best out of Phil Mickelson. Not just on the greens, but off the greens too. The celebration, the giggling, and of course, the classic trash-talking Phil Mickelson was at full display from 1994 to 2017. As this year’s Presidents Cup draws near, we look at the top four Lefty moments from the vault.

Phil being Phil: 2017 Presidents Cup edition

Kisner and Mickelson were ‘The’ team at the Presidents Cup. From explosion handshakes to the ‘three amigos’ dance, the unlikely duo rocked at Liberty National. After clinching a birdie putt on the 18th in the fourball session, Mickelson fist-pumped and walked toward Kisner. The team was going to run up to them but stopped after watching what happened next. Mickelson and Kisner broke out in the three amigos dance.

Steve Stricker, later recalled, that Lefty was practicing it the night before, and ignored his advice to skip that celebration. If you watch the clip closely, you will see Tiger Woods fist-pumping for Mickelson and clapping after the dance. 

One-ball blunder at the 2015 Presidents Cup

Phil Mickelson was sure he was doing it right. Until he wasn’t. Lefty used a different model of his ball in the 7th hole during the Friday Fourballs. After hitting his drive, Mickelson realized he might have made a mistake and informed the rules official. The unwritten rule says you must play with the same model of the ball throughout the around. Mickelson was barred from finishing the 7th hole. 

The U.S. lost that hole to the International team. Later, team USA was also informed they would have to give up one hole because of Mickelson’s mistake. So, they lost it twice. However, PGA Tour rules officials later informed that Mickelson was wrongly banned from finishing the 7th hole. But none of that was reversible. So, the USA lost one hole twice.

Bunker hole out in 2015

No one expected what was coming at the 12th hole when Mickelson stood over his ball on the fairway bunker. Lefty was coming off of a rules mishap. He surely wasn’t in the proper to reach the greens, right? Well, partially. Because, Mickelson’s towering shot dropped a few yards from the hole, before nicely settling inside the cup. The stoic handshake with paying partner Zach Johnson was the perfect anti-climax, though. 

Most appearances record at the 2017 Presidents Cup

Phil Mickelson was only a 24-year-old with a persimmon driver in his bag, and girlfriend, Amy, on his side when the first edition of the Presidents Cup was played. In 2017, when he played his last match, Lefty was accompanied by his two daughters and wife Amy on his side. That was his 12th Presidents Cup appearance, the only one till then who appeared in every edition. Lefty played a record 55 matches with a winning percentage of 59.09%, securing 32.5 points. The record of 12 appearances still stands tall. 

Interestingly, Mickelson sort of pulled out himself from the 2019 Presidents Cup. The six-time major winner acknowledged he hadn’t played well enough to merit a spot. Instead, he goaded Woods to pick himself. Woods did. Phil Mickelson on the other hand hasn’t been involved with the event since.