LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- On the last day of his PGA Tour season, Phil Mickelson spent time on the driving range at Conway Farms -- watching the Solheim Cup.
He pulled the matches up on his phone and watched as the United States overcame a 10-6 deficit to defeat Europe 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 for the biggest final session comeback in the event's 25-year history.
"It was incredible, I loved it. I was so happy for them," said Mickelson, who has played on 10 U.S. Ryder Cup teams and will make his 11th Presidents Cup appearance in three weeks. "It was great. [U.S. captain] Juli [Inkster] is such a great lady, and the team after losing a couple ... it was the same type of comeback we had in '99 at the Ryder Cup. We were down 4 points.
"It was awesome. We were happy for them. I sent her a text congratulating them."
Mickelson didn't say the effort inspired him during his final round of the BMW Championship, but he did shoot his best score of the week, a 4-under-par 67 that wasn't nearly enough to get him through to next week's Tour Championship.
For the second straight year, Mickelson failed to qualify for the season-ending event, also failing to win.
"This offseason is going to be a little bit different for me," said Mickelson, a five-time major winner with 42 PGA Tour victories, but none since the 2013 Open. "I have a little bit of work that I need to complete on my golf swing. I haven't been on plane; I've been a little step, and that's led to some poor ball-striking and it gets progressively worse with the longer stuff.
"However I'm excited about where it's gone the last couple of months and I think another three-four months in the offseason and I look forward to come back ready for January."
Mickelson has one more event prior to his offseason, the Presidents Cup, where he is an at-large selection for captain Jay Haas. Mickelson finished just 30th in points after a season that hasn't seen him post a top-10 since June.
But he was still picked for his 21 consecutive U.S. team, and is looking forward to the competition.
"I think I'm going to be a good partner for four-balls," Mickelson said, referring to the best-ball competition. "I think I'll make a lot of birdies, and having a partner to cover the mistakes that I've made will be nice."
Despite his struggles, Mickelson said he is optimistic about next year.
"My scoring is the last thing that'll come around," he said. "Even though the scoring may not be too noticeable, what I'm noticing is a trend up in the quality of the shots that I'm hitting."