Team Mickelson gets going at Torrey Pines, with Tim on Phil’s bag

Tim Mickelson’s life at middle age was nicely laid out before him.

There would be days of walking finely manicured fairways around the world, and he’d never want for money.

After a combined 14 years of being a head coach at the University of San Diego and Arizona State, Mickelson opened his next chapter in 2016 when he became the agent for up-and-coming star Jon Rahm, whom he’d recruited to Tempe from Spain.

It was the Mickelson family coming full circle, in a sense, because Steve Loy, Phil Mickelson’s coach at Arizona State, had done the same thing when the older Mickelson turned pro in 1992. The company that Loy built merged with Lagadere, for which Tim was working.

Agents have a good life. They travel with the players, work on their off-the-course engagements and have plenty of nice meals getting cozy with people in the golf world.

Tim Mickelson, 40, could have done that for a couple of decades, if not for the unexpected call he got last June.

His brother had a proposition for him.

Phil and the only caddie he had as a pro, Jim “Bones” Mackay, had parted ways. Big brother wanted to know if little brother wanted to pick up his bag.

“We had never talked about it,” Tim Mickelson recalled last week while sitting on the patio at La Quinta Country Club. “Until the day he called, I had never envisioned myself as a caddie for him or as a caddie on the PGA Tour.”

The situation was rather complicated, and Tim was torn. He had been Rahm’s agent for less than a year. The player was poised for a meteoric rise, with Tim sharing in Rahm’s first PGA Tour victory in the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

Tim Mickelson said he thought of the affable Spaniard as a family member. But there’s nothing like a blood bond, or the chance to get inside the ropes with a brother whose Hall of Fame career stands among the greatest of all time.

“We talked to Jon, and he was great about it,” Tim Mickelson said. “He said, ‘There’s not a lot that you have to do for me on a day-to-day basis, and our schedules are kind of the same. I think we can manage it.’ ”

Team Mickelson didn’t win again in 2017 — Phil hasn’t won since the 2013 British Open — but they enjoyed the togetherness and camaraderie, and being on the winning Presidents Cup team.

It was not much of a surprise when Phil asked Tim to return to the bag in 2018. He sought Rahm’s permission to have that talk.

It was another tough call, but Tim chose caddying, and this time he is all in. He is Phil’s full-time caddie and is not representing Rahm. The player is now being handled by Loy, with agent Jeff Koski taking over his affairs in the U.S.

“They both deserved somebody full time,” Tim Mickelson said. “Phil needed a guy 100% devoted to him, and Jon needed someone 100%. At that point, it’s sort of a decision I had to make.”

Tim wants to make one thing clear: “Jon and I are great. We still hang out. And he knows that if he ever needs anything that I’d be there for him and vice versa.”

Rahm, who won last week’s CareerBuilder Challenge to climb to No. 2 in the world, is the defending champion this week in the Farmers, while Phil Mickelson, 47, is a three-time winner and competing at Torrey Pines for the 29th time.

Why did Tim pick caddying?

“The biggest thing is, it’s family,” he said. “I thought it would be neat to be out here more, to spend more time with my brother. And, indirectly, I’m going to end up spending more time with everyone else in my family.”

There was certainly an adjustment period for Tim being on the bag and taking over for Mackay, who looped for Phil for 25 years and was considered one of the best at his craft.

“I think the most difficult part was getting in sync with exactly what he wants to do,” Tim said. “With a ball in the middle of the fairway, what’s he thinking is going to be the right club for the situation? Is it nine-iron or eight-iron? Is it a fade or something else? That certainly took some time, and will continue to take time.

“I’m not trying to do as good a job as Bones did. Bones was amazing,” he added. “I’m trying to do the best job I can for my guy.”

Of Tim’s work, Phil said last week, “There’s a great energy. And he’s got a great knowledge base on how to look and assess a golf course, because he did that for so many years as a coach.

“He’s able to assess and manage based on how I’m playing. He’s got a lot to add — and he’s a phenomenal reader of greens.”

The brothers shared some good moments last season, but nothing compared to the Presidents Cup. As a captain’s pick, Phil went 3-0-1 and the Americans scored a 19-11 victory.

“From beginning to end, it was the best seven days of my life,” Tim said. “To experience that with Phil and the other guys on the team, to be in the locker room with the other caddies … I envisioned what it was going to be like, and it was way better.”

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