The Presidents Cup has been played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on 4 separate occasions in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2005. Every one of those events featured Phil Mickelson as a part of the United States team. Interestingly, the American side won on all four of those events. The first one was under the captaincy of Hale Irwin, the second under Arnold Palmer, the third under Ken Venturi, and the last with Jack Nicklaus taking charge. Playing in the same club right now in the 2025 LIV Golf Virginia, Mickelson reminisced about those amazing memories playing under the greats of the game on the iconic course.
In a press conference for the LIV Golf event, the 54-year-old said, “There were a lot of points on this golf course where I recalled certain stories or events that I recalled over those four events, four Presidents Cups. I have a lot of great moments, a lot of great special memories from this place. It’s fun for me to come back and relive it.” Having played and won 4 times here already, it’s not difficult to imagine the wonderful memories he would have created on this course. He got to play alongside greats like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer during this time.
The LIV Golf pro continued to share, “It’s been a long time since I played here. 2005 was the last Presidents Cup, and I remember in 2000, when Ken Venturi was the captain, having some incredible moments with him, where this was one of his last big deals in the game of golf before he retired, and I really cherished the time that I spent with him. He was a very interesting and fun person to be around, very charismatic individual. In 2005, I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time with Jack Nicklaus as captain. I’ve really enjoyed my time with him. We’ve had a lot of great memories we shared. For me, a lot of great memories have taken place at RTJ. I love the golf course, but I really love coming back here and remembering a lot of those special life moments.”
Mickelson definitely has a lot to relive during his time playing under Venturi and Nicklaus. That’s when he delivered some of his best performances. In 2000, Lefty managed to score 3 out of the 5 points in the 5 matches that he participated in. The only time he lost was in the Friday fourball alongside David Duval and in the Sunday singles playing against Mike Weir. Under the 18-time major winner in his last Presidents Cup at RTJ Golf Club, Mickelson scored 4 out of the possible 5 points. His only loss came in a four-ball event on Friday, teaming up with Chris DiMarco.
Coming back to the legendary course in Virginia for a LIV Golf event has helped boost Phil Mickelson’s confidence. With the U.S. Open coming up, he will be pumped to compete for the only major that he hasn’t won in his illustrious career. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how the golf legend fared in the first round of the $20 million event.
Phil Mickelson is finding his form on one of his favorite courses
One round in and Phil Mickelson looks like he is in the mood to win LIV Golf Virginia 2025. The six-time major winner is just 1 stroke off the top of the table behind Bryson DeChambeau and Martin Kaymer. Mickelson scored 7 birdies and 3 bogeys to finish at 4-under 67. However, things won’t get easier for the veteran golfer as a big challenge lies ahead of him.
Mickelson may need the U.S. Open win to become a grand slam champion, but there is another golfer who would have a little more at stake in the major. The golfer in question is the 2024 U.S. Open winner and defending champion at Oakmont, DeChambeau. The Crushers GC captain also has something to prove after he fumbled a lead at ANGC earlier this year. The 31-year-old was also competing for the 2025 PGA Championship before Scottie Scheffler rose through the ranks to push him 5 strokes under to finish at T2.
Mickelson has announced that this will be his last attempt at winning the U.S. Open and completing the Grand Slam. Could this mean he will be under a lot of pressure at the Oakmont Country Club next week? The fact that he has also never won a LIV Golf event yet will only add to it. Wouldn’t you agree?
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