At the LIV Golf Miami event, major champions discussed the ongoing negotiations and how the end product should create a worldwide game.
DORAL, Fla. – When you consider how prominent and controversial he became at the start of the LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson has been rather quiet in recent months as the league has moved into its third season and the game will see all of the top players together for the first time next week at the Masters.
The PGA Tour has made a deal to get private equity funds and player equity via the Strategic Sports Group while continuing to have discussions with the Private Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which backs LIV Golf.
Two weeks ago, the head of the PIF—Yasir Al Rumayyan—met player directors on the PGA Tour Policy Board, including Tiger Woods, for the first time. The get-together was held in the Bahamas at a Woods residence, and the general feeling afterward was that it was a necessary step but that the sides are not close.
Mickelson, in a brief interview Wednesday following a news conference at Doral, said his previous frustrations with the PGA Tour are the root of why it took so long for such a meeting.
“It’s surprising but it’s not surprising,’’ Mickelson said. “Having been out there (on the PGA Tour) for so long, it’s not surprising. But it’s surprising because it should have happened a lot earlier.’’
Mickelson did not get into specifics but long before LIV Golf, he says he advocated for changes that would alter the game, some of which have in various ways been implemented.
“If you look at all the changes that have taken place with equity for players, elevated events, increased purses … none of that was an option for the guys who left (for LIV),’’ Mickelson said. “Had LIV not happened and we not done what we did, none of that would have happened now.
“I knew the first two years were going to be difficult. But in the end, where it ends up I think the game is going to be a lot more global, appeal to a lot more people. Appeal to a lot younger crowd and is going to be in a much healthier place in the end.
“But in the disruption phase, which is what we’re in, sometimes not everybody sees that far ahead.”
Earlier, during a news conference in advance of the LIV Golf Miami event which begins Friday, Mickelson appeared alongside defending Masters champion Jon Rahm and two-time winner Bubba Watson.
LIV Golf later had Masters participants Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann also take questions.
All were asked about the current state of the game.
“I think in the end, we are in a transitional state where we now have competition and that’s leading to a lot of disruption and change but it’s also in the end product going to make golf more global where the best players travel more,” said Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner who last year tied for second along with Koepka behind winner Rahm.
“I don’t know how it’s going to end up, exactly, or what it’s going to look like. I’m putting my trust in Yasir and where the game is headed more globally. But at some point when it gets ironed out, I think it’s going to be in a much better place where we bring the best players from the world, and it’s going to open up more opportunities for manufacturing, course design, for players in different parts of the world to be inspired and enter the game. I think it’s going to be in a much better place.
“But right now, we are in the disruption phase, so we are in the middle of the process, and when it’s all said and done, it’s going to be a lot brighter. But while we go through it, it’s challenging. But we’ll get there.’’
Rory McIlroy, who for a time was highly critical of LIV, has softened his stance on several occasions and put forth an idea that would see a Champions League-type setup in which there would be some elite events around the world with players from all tours.
On Tuesday, McIlroy – who is playing this week’s PGA Tour event in San Antonio — was quoted by Golf Monthly saying that the current situation “is not sustainable.”
“I agree with that,” Rahm said. “Every time I get asked a question like this, I say the same thing. I think there’s room for both. It’s as simple as that. I think we have the opportunity to end up with an even better product for the spectators and the fans of the game, a little bit more variety doesn’t really hurt anybody. So I think properly done, we can end up with a much better product that can take golf to the next level worldwide, and I’m hoping that’s what ends up happening.”
When that will occur seems no closer than when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Al-Rumayyan announced the “framework agreement” last June, with a Dec. 31, 2023, deadline that has been extended.
In the time afterward, the Tour made its deal with SSG, funding the new PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial $1.5 billion with the potential to double it. The Tour has already outlined a player equity program that will see them become part owners of the Tour.
But so far, there has been no discernable movement on any kind of alliance. For now, LIV Golf players are prohibited from playing in PGA Tour events and the league is not being afforded Official World Golf Ranking points. Meanwhile, 13 of its players—including seven past champions—will compete at the Masters next week.
“It needs to happen fast,” DeChambeau said. “It’s not a two-year thing. Like it needs to happen quicker rather than later just for the good of the sport. Too many people are losing interest.”
DeChambeau added: “We can give input. We can have little moments where we say, hey, we think this would be a good idea or that would be a good idea, but ultimately, it’s up to the guys up top to figure it out and figure it out quickly because we can’t keep going this direction.
“It’s not sustainable for sure, and we all respect that and recognize that and want the best for the game of golf. We all love this game and we want to keep playing it and we want to keep competing.
“The only answer is for us to somehow come together in some sort of terms where it makes sense and for us to be playing all again in somewhat of the same boat. It’s great to have the majors where we come together, but we want to be competing, at least I want to be competing every week, with all of the best players in the world.”
