Three-time Masters Tournament champion Phil Mickelson gave a surprise endorsement of Daniel Penny, a man on trial in New York City for subduing a man on the subway who later died.Mickelson is a longtime professional golfer who has been a mainstay on the PGA Tour (and then LIV Tour) since the early 1990s. Now 54 years old, "Lefty" has increasingly found his voice, sharing political stories while still generally remaining quiet publicly.On Friday, Mickelson made a statement about Penny just hours before a manslaughter charge against him was dropped, with the jury unable to come to a decision.'Thank you Daniel for serving your country ...'The golfer was responding to a post on X that called Penny "a model citizen who should be praised by the city of New York." The post also said Penny "is the person you hope is around if your loved ones' lives are being threatened" and finished by calling him a "hero."Mickelson said he agreed with the sentiment and thanked Penny for his actions."Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual."Then late Sunday night, Mickelson shared some "random thoughts," which included sentiments about football commentators, a TV show, and another statement regarding Penny."Random thoughts[.] Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are great in the booth. Day of the Jackal is an incredible show. If a deranged individual threatens to kill you let’s hope there's a Daniel Penny around." — (@) Mickelson has also shared posts about mass immigration and even commented on the presidential debate in late June."After watching the debate last night, I feel it never got personal until they started talking golf handicaps and who hits the longest drives. As a golfer, I get it," he joked. — (@) As for Penny, the 26-year-old former Marine was arrested after he got into an altercation with a man named Jordan Neely on an NYC subway. Videos showed Penny subduing the man with a chokehold. Neely later died.According to Fox News, Neely had an active arrest warrant at the time of the altercation, and he was high on K2, a synthetic marijuana drug. The man also had a lengthy criminal record that included an assault on a 67-year-old woman at a subway station in 2021.Witnesses also reported the man was making death threats against passengers.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!