At the 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge (now known as the American Express), one Arizona alum (Jon Rahm) mentioned another Arizona alum (Phil Mickelson), saying, “I have a good time when I play practice rounds with him [Mickelson] because we joke around together a lot.” But he agreed that the technical mumbo-jumbo between Mickelson and his then-caddie, Tim Mickelson, affected him so much that, “God, if I do that thought process, I could not hit the golf shot.” Seven years down the line, nothing has changed between the two. Not even their humor.

Well, Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm were both in attendance for the third installment of $250,000 worth LIV Golf’s The Duels at Maridoe Golf Club. The format was a nine-hole, two-man scramble, with some interesting pairings: Bryson DeChambeau and Fat Perez, Phil Mickelson and Grant Horvat, Jon Rahm and Wesley Bryan, and Dean Burmester and George Bryan. The matches were competitive, sure—but the real action came with the banter, and it didn’t take long to get spicy.

On hole 2, Rahm’s partner, Bryan, hit his shot straight onto the fairway. It deserved some praise, and so Bryan did receive them. Following the shot, the eight-man group excitedly clapped, and Rahm said, “Holy cow, Wes.” That’s when Bryan couldn’t help himself. He turned to Mickelson and said, “The only reason you ended up on the fairway in the last hole is ’cause you took a drop out of a sprinkler head. And my guess is…”

He never got to finish the sentence.

“Where did I end up?” Mickelson interrupted, completely deadpan. “In the fairway.”

Bryan smiled awkwardly and walked off. But Rahm—never one to let a moment pass—looked at Mickelson and fired back: “Be a little humble, at least while we’re down.” The fans chuckled. The shade was real. However, this isn’t the first YouTube golf moment between the two that captured the fans’ (and ours) attention. Back in April, the duo gave fans another viral gem—this time on Grant Horvat’s YouTube 2v2 challenge.

Mickelson and Horvat were pitted against Rahm and NFL star Josh Allen. In what may go down as the most mischievous moment of the match, Rahm and Allen pulled a classic golf prank on Mickelson: they told him his ball was closer to the hole than it actually was.

“Serious? Two feet from the hole? Or about 30?” Mickelson asked, trying to figure it out. Once he realized he’d been duped, he went full Lefty mode. Mickelson expressed his frustration, saying, “I just wanna say, f** Josh Allen. I’m with the Jets on that. I don’t care, he’s the nicest guy and then he does this s*.” And then, in perfect comedic rhythm, he added, “Can I say f*** Jon Rahm, too?”

And if you thought the trash talk ended there, think again.

Jon Rahm took a hilarious jibe at Phil Mickelson’s tech knowledge

Jon Rahm pulled off a hilarious prank on Phil Mickelson ahead of the 2025 LIV Golf Virginia. The league’s official account posted a video showing Rahm admitting to switching four of Mickelson’s rangefinders from yards to meters. Mickelson (an American), not a fan of the metric system, was visibly frustrated. “Did they do the meters thing again?” Lefty said, clearly annoyed.

Grant Horvat (another American) chimed in, “They changed his rangefinder… Rahm… Phil’s rangefinder—did it happen to be you?” Rahm feigned innocence, responding with a simple “What?” Rahm tried to deflect suspicion by pointing out that he wasn’t the only European player there. “Like I’m the only one who plays meters here. You got three Europeans.”

However, his composure broke when Grant Horvat discovered that another rangefinder had also been switched. “It’s in meters,” Grant said, and Rahm burst into laughter. Mickelson and Horvat struggled to figure out how to switch the rangefinders back to yards, leading to some comical moments on the course.

When Rahm’s partner, Wesley Bryan, asked who he believed would “react the worst” in these situations, the Spaniard replied, “Tyrrell and Bryson are one and two. Bryson would go more hitless. I think that could be a really… both of them could be fun.” So, in fact, any Jon Rahm taking a dig at Phil Mickelson is not a new thing.