Phil Mickelson has been at the forefront of the LIV Golf movement, and has outlined the lasting impact that the Saudi-backed breakaway league has had on the sport
Phil Mickelson, who committed to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league over two years ago, has highlighted three key aspects of the new setup that the PGA Tour is keen to adopt. Mickelson – dubbed a “nutbag” by a golf legend – was the first big name to make the move, citing a lack of media rights for players on the PGA Tour as a key reason.
In an interview with Golf Digest in February 2022, Mickelson – who recently shot out a warning to Rory McIlroy – said: “It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on.” He added: “The players don’t have access to their own media. If the Tour wanted to end any threat, they could just hand back the media rights to the players…”
He continued: “There are many issues but that is one of the biggest. For me personally, it’s not enough that they are sitting on hundreds of millions of digital moments. They also have access to my shots, access I do not have. They also charge companies to use shots I have hit.”
Mickelson also revealed: “And when I did ‘The Match’ – there have been five of them – the tour forced me to pay them $1 million each time. For my own media rights. That type of greed is, to me, beyond obnoxious.”
Phil Mickelson opened up on LIV Golf and the PGA Tour (Image: Bloomberg)
These comments marked the end of his 30-year relationship with the PGA Tour. Two years later, professional golf finds itself in a marginally better position. The PGA Tour is currently in talks with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) to resolve their conflict with LIV. Meanwhile, Mickelson has reflected on the saga and detailed the changes that LIV Golf’s impact has brought about for players on both sides of the fallout.
“We have elevated events every week out here on LIV,” he shared with Bloomberg. He added two more positives: “We have equity, and we have the ability to use our social media platforms however we want to promote the game. This is starting to change now, and is changing on the PGA Tour.”
