Fresh claim made against Phil Mickelson in bombshell report

A report by Vanity Fair has shone a light on the alleged dealings Phil Mickelson had before the official launch of the LIV Golf League.

Ben Smith

16 Oct 2023

Fresh claim made against Phil Mickelson in bombshell report

An extract from Alan Shipnuck's forthcoming book about the PGA Tour's battle with LIV Golf has made further claims about Phil Mickelson's dealings behind the scenes.

Cast your mind back to May 2021 and Mickelson was getting ready to compete in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Not many gave Mickelson a chance to win but he shocked the world of professional sport, holding off Brooks Koepka to become the oldest male player to win a major championship.

The general public was largely in the dark about the prospect of a new golf league being launched, backed by Saudi oil money.

But the wheels were very much in motion.

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An extract published by Vanity Fair has alleged what Mickelson was doing during this period.

Per the report, it is said whilst Mickelson was talking with Golf Saudi officials, he was also trying to pitch another breakaway tour backed by a billionaire from the sports betting world.

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We should mention that during this period the Saudis and the Premier Golf League (PGL) parted ways having been in discussions about launching a venture together.

The extract states Mickelson stole the PGL's homework and began shopping it around.

It read:

"After a dalliance with the PGL and amid a flirtation with the Saudis, Mickelson, incredibly, began pitching yet another breakaway tour, this one largely underwritten by a billionaire from the sports betting world and the private equity behemoth Silver Lake. The unnamed league proposed an eight-event team series that would be tucked into the PGA Tour schedule. Six of the events would have $20 million purses, while the other two would offer $50 million. Half of the league would be owned by investors and half by players. If this sounds familiar, it’s because, a PGL source says, "Phil got access to all of our work and started shopping it around." Talks went as high as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay] Monahan and Ed Herlihy, the chairman of the PGA Tour's board of directors. Herlihy is a leading mergers and acquisitions attorney and also an influential member at Augusta National. He ended further discussion of the new league with a succinct verdict: "If it's not one hundred percent owned and controlled by the PGA Tour, it will be viewed as hostile."

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf's backers, the Saudi PIF, are still in negotiations to ratify the 6 June framework agreement.

PGA Tour members were recently sent a memo providing an update on the latest on the negotiations, although one source with knowledge of the talks has told ESPN they believe the deal will never happen.

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