Mickelson looks back and forward

Phil Mickelson on Wednesday acknowledged that a season without an injured Tiger Woods playing a full schedule was a missed opportunity for him and that he has been working doggedly to solve his putting woes.

He was disappointed in the FedEx Cup series and said he was intrigued by a lucrative Race to Dubai element added to the European PGA Tour. But he has not joined that tour and is unsure whether it will adversely affect the U.S. PGA Tour.

Mickelson, who won twice in 2008 but did not win any of golf’s major tournaments, expressed concern about a flagging economy but remained optimistic that the PGA Tour could weather the storm, as it has in the past.

The left-handed golfer from Rancho Santa Fe, speaking on a conference call, also talked about the LG Skins Game, which will be held at Indian Wells Golf Resort over Thanksgiving weekend.

Mickelson, who will be paired with Stephen Ames, Rocco Mediate and K.J. Choi in the Skins Game, said his focus after the off-season would be on winning the Masters for a third time in April.

Hopefully, he said, he can parlay that into a first-time U.S. Open victory. He’s confident based on the way he struck the ball during a season in which he had eight top-10 finishes and won almost $5.2 million.

And because, while working with instructor Dave Pelz, “We’ve identified the area of my putting that needs to be fixed.”

Asked whether 2008, with Woods sidelined for all but six events because of knee surgery, was a missed opportunity, Mickelson mused that it was for him but not for Padraig Harrington, who won the British Open and PGA Championship.

“The only way I can look at it is that I didn’t play my best,” Mickelson said.

Of Woods he added, “The entire golf world cannot wait for his return. I miss him as a player. I miss him as a person. And I miss trying to track him down because that is always a great challenge.”

If Woods’ absence has hurt the tour, so might the slumping economy and an embattled automotive industry that plays so large a sponsorship role.

Mickelson pointed out that Commissioner Tim Finchem has withstood “the highs and lows of the economy” for years and added, “I remember when purses were $1 million and now they’re averaging $6 million, and that’s just mind-boggling to me.”

Of the FedEx Cup points series, Mickelson said, “I wish it had gone a little better.”

The Cup was virtually clinched by Vijay Singh before the Tour Championship. Harrington, though he had won two majors, was not eligible for the Tour Championship because he had played poorly in the first two Cup events.

As for the Race to Dubai, which mandates European Tour membership and allows the top 60 at the end of the season to vie for a $10-million purse and includes a $10-million bonus pool for the Dubai World Championship, Mickelson said he would not take part -- yet.

“I haven’t really seen who has committed and have not talked to any of them to see how it might affect the PGA Tour,” he said.

Mickelson did not rule out joining the European PGA Tour next year.

Lastly, he was asked about defending his Northern Trust Open championship at Riviera Country Club in February.

Mickelson said he has come to enjoy the tournament largely because it’s so easy to commute to and from his north San Diego County home -- via private jet.

“Commuting from San Diego has made it nice for me to be able to sleep at home, and that also has contributed to my good play,” he said.

Mickelson’s caddie Jim “Bones” MacKay might have a different opinion. It took him longer to drive to his nearby hotel in traffic than it took Mickelson to reach his home airport.

--

pete.thomas@latimes.com