“How did that kid get in this tournament”: Phil Mickelson tells Arnold Palmer’s story when he was completely crushed by Ben Hogan ahead of The Masters

Ahead of the 2025 Masters, Phil Mickelson is aware of how motivation can play a huge role in how one performs. Whether a player is properly motivated or not can determine how well they do, and Mickelson has an example.

In a press conference leading into his annual trip to Augusta National, Mickelson said he heard from Arnold Palmer once about how a slight comment from Ben Hogan resulted in a Major victory for the former.

The golfer said:

"I remember [Arnold] Palmer. I wish they would videotape those guys tell some stories... I remember a story that Palmer used to tell me when we played one time... He really looked up to Ben Hogan. That was a big thing for him."

He shared that Palmer had a chance to play a practice round with Hogan before the 1956 Masters. Palmer had just won a tournament the weekend before and drove all night to get there. Mickelson continued:

"They go out and play, and Arnold's tired. He hadn't slept, and he just won and he's emotionally spent and he kind of hit it everywhere. He kind of slapped it around."

The legendary golfer said Palmer overheard a painful comment from Hogan:

"He kind of hears Hogan say, 'How did that kid get into this tournament?' That really got him upset."

Mickelson also noted that Palmer didn't like perpetually being called "kid" by Hogan. That moniker and the unfriendly question it came with motivated Palmer. The LIV Golf star went on to say:

"He went out and won that year. It just gave him that little edge, like, 'I'm going to go show him what I'm doing here. That little comment that he overheard kind of spurred him on."

Palmer would go on to collect a total of four Masters and seven Major championships during his career.

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Phil Mickelson has high praise for Joaquin Niemann

Following a win at LIV Golf Singapore, Joaquin Niemann got some high praise from his Torque GC team's social media account. They hailed him as a top five golfer in the world right now.

Phil Mickelson praised Joaquin Niemann (Image via Imagn)

Phil Mickelson took it a step further, quoting it and saying that Niemann was actually the No. 1 player in the world. Though OWGR points are not applied to LIV events, Niemann ranks 84th in the world and Scottie Scheffler remains No. 1.

Niemann, however, was focused on building up to the Masters. He said via Irish Star:

"You build confidence, and I feel like you build that confidence through preparation, and I'm pretty excited that I have two weeks. My next two weeks are going to be good preparation for me for what's coming.

Niemann will have the chance to prove Phil Mickelson right next weekend at Augusta National.