“We played for a little bit of money” – Phil Mickelson recalls playing against a then-rookie Dustin Johnson 

Phil Mickelson recently recalled playing for the first time with fellow LIV golfer Dustin Johnson when he was a rookie on the PGA Tour. Over the years, Johnson and Mickelson have emerged as two of the top golfers in the world. They have traveled a long way and have had decorated careers. Currently, both of them play LIV Golf.

On February 2, the six-time major winner released a video on his Phil Mickelson and The HyFlyers YouTube channel featuring Dustin Johnson and Austin Johnson. During their conversation, Mickelson recalled his time with Dustin Johnson, for the first time, while he was "getting ready to go play the tour."

Speaking of their first meeting, Mickelson said:

"You know we've had so many great moments together and I just thought could just share a couple of cool little moments. I remember when we first played together Keith Sbarbaro brought you out, You just got in your car and it was like January you're getting ready to go play the tour.

"We went out and played and I watched you hit your drive on the first hole and I'm like 'Whoa!'. We played for a little bit of money, whatever it was I don't remember," he added.

Notably, Dustin Johnson started playing professionally in 2007, and just a year later, he joined the PGA Tour. He played his rookie season on the Tour in 2008 and even won a maiden tournament in his rookie year.

Johnson won the 2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship by registering a one-stroke win over Robert Allenby. Johnson has won 24 PGA Tour events in his career. However, after joining LIV Golf, he has been banned from playing on the Tour.

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Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson gearing up to play in LIV Golf 2025

Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson were the two earliest players, who joined the LIV Golf series in 2022. They have been playing in the series for the last three seasons and will return to the Saudi league in 2025.

This week, LIV Golf will start its fourth season in Saudi Arabia on February 6. Mickelson will return to play for his HyFlyers GC, while Johnson will lead the 4Aces GC.

Meanwhile, in the last season, Dustin Johnson was impressive with his game. He won the Las Vegas tournament and recorded some decent finishes such as T5 at Mayakoba and T7 at the Singapore event.

Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, had a tough time on the greens in the 2024 LIV Golf season. He could only secure one finish in the top 10, finishing T6 at the Jeddah event.