Mickelson, who has been one of the biggest faces of LIV Golf and received the most criticism for his involvement in the controversial project backed by Saudi Arabia, spoke about the new partnership ahead of this week’s LIV Golf event in Spain. He said that everything he had hoped for seemed ahead of schedule.
“I would say I felt appreciated that we’ve come to this point where we’re working together because it makes me confident about the direction of golf going forward,” Mickelson said via ESPN. “We felt like it was going to be about two years or so before we got to that point. It took a year and a half, six months faster than I expected.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan earlier this month announced plans to form a new entity with DP World Tour and LIV Golf, ending nearly two years of a contentious battle in the sport. Round sent the six-page “framework” agreement to Congress earlier this week. A Senate committee is investigating the new deal, as is the Justice Department.
Monahan received intense backlash for his announcement, especially after he once invoked the 9/11 terrorist attacks when he defended the tour on LIV Golf. Monahan has since stepped away from the tour to recover from a medical problem.
There are still plenty of details to be known, including whether or not LIV Golf continues into 2024. The league’s future will be decided by the new company’s board of directors after Monahan issues a recommendation. LIV Golf CEO and Hall of Famer Greg Norman has reportedly told golfers that the league plans to continue operating in 2024, though Norman’s future with the new entity is up in the air.
While no one seems to know what’s going to happen on that front, Mickelson isn’t worried.
“Everything Greg has told us over the past two years and everyone at LIV has paid off, so we have a lot of confidence in what they’ve told us,” Mickelson said via ESPN. “We don’t really feel the need to take a public stance on our position. There’s really no need for us to talk about things publicly but just to let it happen.”
Will Phil Mickelson return to the PGA Tour?
Part of the “Framework Agreement” detailed a plan to allow LIV Golf members to rejoin either the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour after the 2023 season. Although it’s unclear what that would look like specifically, golfers will likely be fined. or suspend them before they are allowed to play in either round again, regardless of whether LIV Golf is alive or not.
Mickelson has won 45 times on the PGA Tour in his career. He’s second on the list of PGA Tour career earnings, just shy of the $100 million mark. Only Tiger Woods, who has earned nearly $121 million playing the game, is ahead of him.
Mickelson was one of the first to get behind LIV Golf, though he received a lot of criticism — including his comments supportive of Saudi Arabia, which he initially described as “scary mothers.”
While Mickelson hasn’t closed on the idea of returning to the tour, he has made it clear that he is very content playing with LIV Golf at this point in his career.
“Instead of saying yes or no, I know that from the player’s experience, all the hardships, challenges, energy-intensive and overproductive things throughout the week at LIV were fixed,” Mickelson said via ESPN. “So the player experience here is unbelievable. I can’t imagine a better scenario for myself as a player than playing here on Leaf.”
Either way, Mickelson is very happy with the direction the sport is going now.
“Going forward, we’re all very optimistic about where golf, especially professional golf, is going,” Mickelson said via ESPN. “Also, a lot of the changes that have been made because of LIV have all been very (appreciated), both on the LIV Tour and the PGA Tour, and we’re glad the guys out there have had some positive changes there as well.”