Scottsdale, AZ …

Phil Mickelson used his press conference ahead of a remarkable 28th appearance in the Waste Management Phoenix Open to send a longevity reminder to the likes of World No. 1 Jason Day and the injured World No. 2 Rory McIlroy.

Day has battled with back injury in recent years while McIlroy is side-lined to a date unknown after suffering a stress fracture in his rib and due to ‘excessive’ off-season testing of his new equipment.

In contrast, Mickelson has enjoyed a career relatively free of injury and this despite undergoing two hernia operations since being a member of the victorious USA Ryder Cup team.

And this was his advice to his much younger colleagues.

Phil Mickelson has some timely advice for those younger colleagues who want to enjoy a long PGA Tour career. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)

“There are two things that has allowed me to elongate my career, if you will,” he said.

“One is I give a lot of credit to Sean Cochran and him staying up on new techniques, working with Dave Phillips and Greg Rose and guys at TPI on having our workouts be designed to be built around golf and elongating careers, so building the stabilizing muscles rather than building up just the big muscles.

“So the support around my knees, around my spine, around my shoulders, all the areas that first commonly get injured, are much stronger.

“Those small muscles are much stronger. Since we have been together now 14 years, that was our goal, to use working out as a way to elongate my career.

Ernest Jones and his book – Swing the Clubhead Method and one of the books read by Phil Mickelson that has helped him stay at the top for so many years in his career.

“Secondly, the swing I have does not put a lot of pressure on my low back and spine and whatnot. It was built more around the books of Ernest Jones way back in the day, Bobby Jones, swinging the club, watching Sam Snead swing it, and using the leverage and motion to create speed rather than a violent, brutal force while isolating a couple of joints.

“If you isolate any joint, knee or the hip, then you will increase the pressure on other parts of your body.

“And so all areas of my body kind of move together with the golf swing so it doesn’t focus extra amount of pressure on one area.