Phil Mickelson has parted ways with famed instructor Butch Harmon after eight years and already has his eyes on a new swing coach.
Media reports claim that Lefty, who has not played well the last two years, has been talking in recent months with 41-year-old Australian Andrew Getson of Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Mickelson once lived.
The Golf Channel reported they will begin working together later this month, but that no formal agreement has been reached.
“I’ve learned a great deal from (Harmon) in our eight years together,” the 45-year-old Mickelson said in a statement to Golf.com. “It’s just that at the moment I need to hear new ideas from a different perspective.
” … Butch is one of the great teachers in the history of the game and I believe he deserves to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame.”
Mickelson left instructor Rick Smith for Harmon in 2007 and not long after he captured the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
During his partnership with Harmon, Lefty claimed 14 titles around the world, including the 2010 Masters and the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield to run his major championship total to five and leave him needing only a U.S. Open crown to complete the Career Grand Slam.
However, he is winless since raising the Claret Jug two years ago and has only five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since, including second in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla and a tie for second in the Masters earlier this year.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Phil and we’ve had great success together,” said Harmon,. who coached Tiger Woods early in his career. “Helping him win the Open Championship in 2013 was one of the pinnacles of my career.
“I see nothing wrong with him seeking advice from another source. We’re great friends and always will be.”
Mickelson, who grew up in San Diego and attended Arizona State, has won 51 times in his pro career. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
