Phil Mickelson walked off the course Saturday and into the broadcast booth with CBS Sports.
He wasn’t there to talk about his third-round 70. Instead, he spent more than an hour calling the action alongside Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo.
“It just worked out,” Mickelson said Sunday at the PGA Championship, where he was tied for 70th. “I made the cut, so I’m going to be here. I had an early tee time, so I had this afternoon to spend time or to waste time, and it just kind of worked out.”
Mickelson said he’s always been tight with the CBS crew – he plays in a fantasy football league with some of the producers and commentators. The move was curious for its timing, fueling speculation that Mickelson, 50, might be auditioning for a future role.
“It just worked out; I don’t know what else to say,” Mickelson said. “Just, ‘Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?’, that kind of thing.”
There were a couple of awkward on-air exchanges between Mickelson and Faldo, and Mickelson couldn’t help but get in the final word Sunday.
“Having a guy like Jim Nantz kind of set things up and stage what to talk about make it easy, because it’s not like I prepared for anything,” Mickelson said. “And then obviously to have a wonderful target like Nick, that made it nice, too.”