SHOCK ALERT! Phil Mickelson has opinions about PGA Tour: "Makes me chuckle"

Phil Mickelson revealed he is resigned to being 'a fan' of the Ryder Cup from now on as the LIV Golf star addressed recent PGA Tour bombshells.

Ben Smith

10 Aug 2023

SHOCK ALERT! Phil Mickelson has opinions about PGA Tour:

Phil Mickelson says he's resigned himself to being 'a fan' of the Ryder Cup from now on as he claimed it 'makes me chuckle' to see the widespread changes adopted by the PGA Tour.

Mickelson was in a buoyant mood ahead of LIV Golf's event in Bedminster.

The HyFlyers captain told a pool of reporters on 9 August he previously held several meetings with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to discuss some of the things that are now happening on the North American circuit.

Chief of which are signature events - previously referred to as elevated or PGA Tour designated - as Lefty claimed it was imperative the best players on the planet play together more often.

Mickelson said he has the notes from those meetings, and looking back it makes him laugh.

He told the media:

"Yeah, so prior to this, Jay and I had four three- or four-hour meetings, and all the notes I look back on I'd say 85 or 90 percent of them are happening, and I think that's really cool, and I'm happy for the PGA Tour. I wish them all the best."

Does he find himself shaking his head?

Mickelson added:

"Well, I mean, I chuckle. I certainly am chuckling, yes."

Monahan stepped away from his role temporarily on the eve of the 2023 U.S. Open, just days after announcing the 'framework agreement' with LIV Golf's backers.

The under fire chief revealed he was suffering from anxiety and mental health issues.

Read more about that here

During his time of rest, he was able to skip as US Senate hearing where lawmakers grilled two high-ranking PGA Tour execs on the deal.

It is said that Monahan could be called to provide testimony in the future.

Mickelson was asked if he could envisage a future where the PGA Tour includes a team element.

He said:

"I think there's two areas of professional golf that as you know I worked hard on, and it wasn't going to happen until LIV, which was a team aspect and elevated events, because the fans need to see the best players play against each other more often, and until elevated events came, the top players weren't playing in the same events. They were broken up.

"The team aspect brings a whole different way to identify to a younger crowd, and I think the team aspect is a big reason why the demographic for LIV Golf is about half that of the PGA TOUR, and I think that's going to be crucial to the long-term support of the game of golf.

"As you know, I worked very hard on both of those prior, and it was made very clear that that was not going to come about unless -- because it was believed to be that LIV wasn't going to happen.

"Now that it has happened, those changes have been made, but LIV is leading the way in that area because we have the ability to guarantee who's going to be there and move this throughout the world as well as the team aspect."

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"There's four or give guys here that warrant that"

The Ryder Cup, at the time of writing, is now 50 days away.

Only Sir Nick Faldo (11) has made more appearances than Lefty.

Mickelson's words and actions have undoubtedly ruffled some feathers. Who knows, he may be welcomed back into the fold in the future.

It appeared a dead cert that Mickelson would captain the United States side in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

Mickelson will not be in Rome but he reckons there are at least four or five players on LIV that, on merit, could or should included.

Those players would be Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch and Patrick Reed.

Our Andy Roberts reckons it's now unfathomable for DeChambeau not to feature after firing 61-58 at The Greenbrier's Old White course.

Can Mickelson imagine a scenario where DeChambeau is now not involved?

He said:

"That's a tough question to answer because there's some players here on LIV that have played some golf that I would argue is some of the best in the world. Bryson, his last week is one of the best performances in the game.

"I think Talor Gooch is one of the best performances of the year, and Brooks is one of the toughest competitors, and then you always want to throw DJ or Patrick Reed in there because of their consistency. They've Aces to a number of victories. You've got four or five guys here that you can make an argument are some of the best American players for sure.

"But you also have, as we know, a team dynamic is very important, and as we've created a dynamic here of support where we're helping each other be our best, you want to have that same dynamic for the Ryder Cup to bring out the best in each other.

"It's also understandable if that's not the case, if as a captain you decide to go with a team that brings about a certain chemistry, but if you're looking just straight for the best players, there's four or five guys here that warrant that."

Ryder Cup qualifying for the United States ends on 20 August upon the conclusion of the BMW Championship.

Captain Zach Johnson will announce his six picks shortly after.

GolfMagic have already made their predictions as to who is in and who is out for Europe and the U.S.

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