Phil Mickleson's Love and Hate for Links Golf

Phil Mickelson openly admitted Tuesday that he hated links golf. Within the same breath, Mickelson admitted he has grown to love links golf.

This admission may not surprise some people since Mickelson has never won the Open Championship. The major has eluded him throughout his career.

Mickelson's aggressive style has not always matched well with links golf.

His risky plays have helped and hindered him throughout his 17 Open Championship appearances. In fact, Mickelson has missed the cut four times and had his worst performance in 1998 where he finished 79th.

Mickelson has often found himself fighting the thick air off the tee. Many of his wayward shots leave him in tall fescue or deep bunkers the size of a large sinkhole.

With more disappointing results than favorable memories, it's easy to understand why one of the most popular and successful golfers hated links golf.

So when did he find love?

It's easy to believe he found it recently, like last week when he had his first win on British soil at the Scottish Open. But that's not the case.

It wasn't until 2004 when Phil began to feel some affection towards links golf.

Mickelson requested the help of Dave Pelz, who showed Mickelson how to consistently drive the ball low and keep it in play. They also worked on long chip shots and taking spin off the ball.

This was a change in Mickelson's game, where loft is a common characteristic.

Mickelson told ASAP Sports:

"

We worked on a shot that's kind of a chip, a chip 4-wood, a chip hybrid, a chip 4-iron, where I'm just swinging it almost half pace trying to take spin and speed off of it and just get it on the ground. And it's this low, little scooting shot that feels very easy to get it in play. And the miss is not anywhere near as drastic, because it's not ever up in the wind.

"

Following his work with Pelz, Mickelson had his best result since 1991 finishing third at the 2004 Open Championship.

The following years saw Mickelson continue to struggle with weather conditions, high scores and missed cuts.

In 2011, Mickelson turned things around at Royal St. George’s. He fought through the blustery conditions late in the final round, resulting in a tie for second with Dustin Johnson. It was his best finish at the Open Championship.

Even after winning the Scottish Open last week, Mickelson knows this week will be difficult but feels good about his chances. Muirfield is one of the courses he feels most comfortable and he T-2 at the other major this year, the U.S. Open.

Winning the Open Championship this week would not only be a major highlight in Mickelson's career, but it could cement his love for links golf.