Phil Mickelson has decided on a familiar face for his full-time caddie -- his brother, Tim.
Tim Mickelson, the former golf coach at Arizona State who went to work for management company Lagardere Sports and was representing PGA Tour player Jon Rahm, will be on his brother's bag full time when the five-time major winner resumes play at the Career Builder Challenge next month.
"The last four months or five months have been so much fun, and I've enjoyed having Tim work with me so much," Phil Mickelson said Friday in a phone interview. "He's a really good caddie. He knows my game very well. He knows what I do -- and what I should do.
"This is a big year, a Ryder Cup year, and I'm really looking forward to 2018."
Mickelson, 47, parted ways in June with his longtime caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, who is now doing on-course commentary for NBC and is working the Hero World Challenge this week.
At the time, Mickelson said he would utilize his brother on a short-term basis until the end of the year before deciding on a full-time caddie.
But Lagardere announced Friday that Tim Mickelson would no longer be representing Rahm, who is ranked fourth in the world, so that he could work for his brother. Phil Mickelson is also represented by the management company.
Mickelson, a Hall of Famer who has 42 PGA Tour victories, had Mackay as his caddie going back to his professional debut in 1992. Their breakup was mutual, and Mickelson said his brother was perfect to step in because he knew his game so well.
Ranked 35th in the world, Mickelson has not won since his Open title at Muirfield in 2013. But he finished the year with a 3-0-1 record at the Presidents Cup, then tied for third at the Safeway Open and was tied for 15th at the WGC HSBC Champions in China.
"I'm looking forward to getting going again," Mickelson said. "And Tim has just gotten better and better. He knows my game, and I know we will work well together."
Mickelson said he plans to play five events in a row starting with the Career Builder tournament, followed by the Farmers Insurance Open, Waste Management Phoenix Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Open at Riviera.