“Every time I hit a shot, I need you to face me” - Kevin Kisner reveals Phil Mickelson once had an "astronomer" pick his partner for Presidents Cup
PGA Tour pro Kevin Kisner recently revealed a hilarious incident when Phil Mickelson paired up with him just on an "astronomer's" suggestion, which eventually turned out to be lucky for the veteran golfer. (Although he did mention an astronomer, we believe he meant an astrologer.)
Kisner was recently a guest on the Smylie Show podcast, hosted by Smylie Koffman. Kisner made his debut as a broadcaster at Sentry last week for NBC, where Koffman also works as a commentator.
In the podcast, Kisner shared a hilarious story about how he was paired with Phil Mickelson for the Friday four-ball match against Jason Day and Marc Leishman at the 2017 Presidents Cup. He revealed that he didn't know Mickelson that well, but then the US team's captain Steve Stricker told him that he would be playing along with the veteran on Friday.
"I'm in a pod with like Chappie (Kevin Chappell) and Charlie Hoffman or somebody, you know, some of my buds. On Wednesday, Strick's like, 'Hey kids, uh, we're switching up the pods today, and you're going to go with Phil,'" he said.
He added that earlier it was going to be either Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson or Phil Mickelson with Kuchar or Johnson.
"That's what it was 'cause we play a big money match on that day, and we were just getting slaughtered out there. So, we and Phil on the same team," he said.
Surprised Kisner inquired Stricker about why he was playing with Mickelson and that too when he was already in his pregame routine.
"I literally, in my pregame, was like, 'I can't play with Phil. I hit all the fairways and Phil never hits one. I don't know how to play with that guy.' And so, I'm playing with Phil, and he's like, 'Well, Phil has an astronomer that graded all the two teams, and you got the highest grade. So, he's basically just told us that he wasn't playing with anyone but you,"' he continued.
"So, I was like, 'Okay, that's the weirdest s*** I've ever heard in my life.' So, I go talk to Phil. I'm like, 'So what's up with this astronomer?' he goes, 'Oh, not only that, Kiz. Every time I hit a shot, I need you to face me with your belly because all your energy comes from your belly, and I can pull your energy before every shot,'" he added.
The 39-year-old golfer added that Phil Mickelson didn't forget even once, and every time reminded him to stand in the correct position. He referred to it as the weirdest thing he had ever done in his life. However, all these antics eventually came to fruition as they beat the Jason Day and Marc Leishman pair 1-1.
"We missed one fairway in that match in alternate shot on Thursday, and I missed it. He hit every fairway that was his tee ball. We drummed J Day and Mark Leishman. It was one of the greatest turnarounds," he further stated.
The Kisner-Phil pair again played together the following day in the foursome match, beating Emiliano Grillo and Jhonattan Vegas 2 & 1. Team US was successful in comfortably defending their title at the Liberty National as they beat the international team 19-11.
Where did Kevin Kisner last compete?
Kevin Kisner last competed at the RSM Classic, where he finished 78th after shooting 1-under. He had an underwhelming season, as he made just eight cuts in the 18 starts on the PGA Tour last season and struggled to make even a single top-25 finish.