Phil Mickelson: Exodus of PGA Tour stars to LIV Golf is coming

Phil Mickelson is adamant that an exodus of PGA Tour players to the LIV Golf League is imminent – claiming “I know that’s going to happen.”

Mickelson believes the framework peace deal negotiations between the Public Investment Fund (PIF) bankrolling LIV and the PGA and DP World Tours will not prevent more star names joining his Saudi-backed series.

Speaking ahead of LIV’s second season $50m Team Championship finale at Trump Doral in Miami, the six-time major champion was bullish about the future of the fledgling enterprise despite a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the league’s future.

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In fact, the only issue the 53-year-old envisages is that there a not enough spots for another big influx of players who will want to become part of the series.

“Do I think that?” he said when asked about more players joining LIV. “No. I know that’s going to happen.

“When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it. Everybody here is happy and enjoying what we are doing and enjoying the team aspect of it and the camaraderie and all the benefits that come with playing this tour.

“The reality is, I’ve been fielding calls, as we all have, from players who are free agents to PGA Tour players who want to come over. So the question is how many spots are available? There’s a lot more players that want to come than there are spots.”

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The prospective truce within golf’s corridors of powers was supposedly going to stop LIV luring new players, but Mickelson believes the merger talk makes an exodus possible.

“I think it allows and kind of opens the door for that,” he added.

In a joint-press conference on Wednesday, Mickelson also reiterated his belief that the PGA Tour has undermined LIV’s failed bid for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

“I think that the majors need to protect their product, and there’s probably other ways that they can do that by creating slots,” he claimed, after OWGR chairman Peter Dawson insisted the LIV format could not “be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours.”

“If they want to make sure they have the best fields in golf, they could create vehicles for players on LIV to play in majors where they don’t have to use the OWGR, which would undermine the TV contract and revenue of the PGA Tour if they gave points to LIV.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.