Phil Mickelson will be greatly missed from the Masters locker room this year, considering his excellent rapport with the staff. No better illustration of this exists than when former caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay revealed that the now-LIV Golf star shared a touching moment with the Augusta National locker room staff following his maiden Masters victory in 2004.

Mickelson secured the first of his three Masters titles 22 years ago, finally claiming his prized green jacket in his 12th attempt at the season’s opening major championship. In doing so, the 55-year-old gained all the benefits that accompany being a Masters champion.

Among those benefits was securing a permanent spot in the champions’ locker room for all subsequent Masters appearances, placing him alongside some of golf’s greatest-ever players.

All three of his victories came with Mackay carrying the bag, as the caddie worked alongside the former PGA Tour professional throughout the peak of his career. Mickelson was regularly considered a crowd favourite, and Mackay recalled a touching moment that took place away from spectators’ eyes.

“There we are, he’s won the Masters, it’s 6.30 pm on a Sunday evening and I don’t see this guy for like three or four hours,” Mackay told No Laying Up. “So I’m sitting in this parking lot or near it outside the Augusta National clubhouse and it must have been 10 o’clock.

“I look out to his car, and I see some figures. It’s pitch dark out there, and it’s Phil and these two or three other people around him. So I walk up there to kind of help with packing the bag, and as I walk up to him, I see these guys are hugging Phil.

“They’re not just hugging him, it’s like an emotional hug… I’m like, ‘Man, who are these guys hugging Phil?’ It turns out these are the guys that work in the lower locker room at Augusta National (that) Phil’s been tipping all these years and taking such good care of.

“Now that Phil’s won the Masters, he’s going to the champions’ locker room, and these guys are losing him forever, and they’re just devastated. So they’re hugging it out in the parking lot and I thought, ‘That’s really cool.'”

Yet Mickelson will not be returning to Augusta this week to challenge for a fourth title. He confirmed last week that he has pulled out of the major, citing family circumstances as the reason.

“Unfortunately, I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter,” wrote Mickelson on X.

“I have great respect for Augusta National Golf Club, and it is definitely the most special week of the year. I wish everyone the best of luck, and I will be watching.”