PGA Tour star and former Sun Devil Phil Mickelson will be joining his brother on the ASU men’s golf coaching staff on an interim basis.
The story was first reported by GolfWeek and was made official by the Arizona State athletic department Wednesday. Mickelson will be working under his brother Tim, who has been the team's head coach since 2011.
During his time at ASU, Mickelson won a total of 16 tournaments, a school record and twice as much as the next golfer on the list, and national titles in 1989, 1990 and 1992. He was a member of the national title winning team in 1990.
After graduating, Mickelson went on to a very successful career on the PGA Tour with 42 career wins with five majors. He often represents his country in both the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup tournaments.
Mickelson may have been given this position earlier, as it was reported Wednesday morning by The Sydney Morning Herald that Mickelson called top Australian amateur Ryan Ruffels in an effort to recruit him to ASU. The NCAA would not allow this sort of call unless Mickelson was a member of the golf program.
After the announcement, Tim Mickelson expressed his excitement in adding his brother to his coaching staff.
“The timing of an assistant coach job opening and my brother always showing an interest in helping ASU has allowed Phil to join us as an assistant coach on interim basis," he said in a statement. "To share the Arizona State experience with my brother is a dream come true for our family, as he will be able to help in many ways as an official member of the Sun Devil staff. The timing was ideal as we began talking about his role last month. We look forward to having Phil as a member of our Sun Devil athletic staff on an interim basis."
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow him Twitter @bill_slane
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