25 June 2024 , 17:54
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Phil Mickelson has admitted that he is 'happy' for his rivals over on the PGA Tour, after the six-time major champion had his say on the ever-changing landscape of men's professional golf with a pointed message at the players he left behind.
Mickelson became the marque name to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022, leading a list of star-studded players after pledging his support behind the Saudi-backed league. This saw his 30-year association with the American-based circuit come to a bitter end, having had his Tour card suspended.
In the wake of the formation of the breakaway circuit, the PGA Tour themselves made a whole host of changes in a bid to thwart off the threat of their LIV rivals and stop more of their big names from following in the footsteps of Mickelson and co.
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Most notably Jay Monahan has introduced a number of 'Signature Events' to the PGA Tour schedule, which sees the Tour's top players compete for a £15.8 million ($20m) prize pot, matching the purses of their LIV counterparts. Despite being at the centre of the sour fallout, Mickelson has admitted he is pleased to see his former Tour colleagues benefitting from the changes.
Asked he felt his legacy within the game will be linked to his decision to join LIV, the three-time Masters champion told the league's Fairway to Heaven podcast: "I sure hope so, because it wasn’t an option — like elevated events and equity in the tour wasn’t an option for the guys that came to LIV.
"And so the fact that we are invested and involved and integrated into the success of LIV — and I’m happy for the guys on the Tour that they now have all that stuff because they should. But where we’re at, we’re attracting a different crowd. And we’re attracting a global crowd.
Phil Mickelson joined LIV Golf in 2022 (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Image)"And that’s critical to the long-term success of the game. And it’s something that the old model of the Tour would never transcend into because you couldn’t get all the guys to go travel the world and play over there and again attract players that don’t play the game of golf to want to watch.
“I think LIV Golf is doing that and I’m hopeful that my connection with LIV and hopeful the success of LIV will be what I’m known for.” Mickelson had previously highlighted players' lack of access to their media rights whilst on the PGA Tour as one of the key reasons behind making the Saudi switch.
Initially, Mickelson and his fellow defectors faced heavy criticism, but this opinion appeared to have softened over time. Alluding to this, he commented: "I knew the first two years were going to be rough – and here we are, two years in now, and it’s totally different. We’re having a blast here. We’re having so much fun.”