Phil Mickelson appears to have taken some notes from Bryson DeChambeau and other golf content creators. Who says an old dog cannot learn new tricks?

Toronto radio host Chris McKee stated Lefty would instantly become the most sought-after television analyst after seeing Mickelson hint at retirement.

Those words prompted the six-time major winner to respond.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just because someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it,” Mickelson wrote. “Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9-hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video, but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch, I think too.”

Ian Poulter then replied to Lefty. It seems a former Ryder Cup rivalry could be simmering.

The Englishman comically trolled himself and pitched his content idea to Mickelson.

“I’m happy to be the Schmos if you like.. just like we could have been Ryder Cup Captains against each other,” Poulter wrote. “Which ain’t happening now. So name the place and time, and I will bring the [camera emoji]. I’m all in [thumbs up and fist pump emoji]. Just put those calf muscles away. Tartans trousers only.”

Lefty only needed three words to answer Poulter’s request.

“Let’s do this,” he wrote.

However, Poulter was not the only person who offered to join him.

Wesley Bryan of Bryan Bros Golf YouTube channel commented on his first tweet, ready to play Lefty.

A few weeks ago Phil Mickelson hinted his days playing professional golf may be numbered. 

It begged the question, other than living the high life with his LIV Golf money, what will Lefty do?

Given the appreciation for the sound of his own voice, it appeared that a natural fit for Mickelson would be to get into the booth and commentate on the game.

Over the years, Mickelson has proven time and again that he’s excellent, informative and downright hilarious calling the action.

Sadly, Mickelson doesn’t want to go down that path.

At least, that’s if you take his latest posts on X at face value.

On user on the social platform pointed out the very second Mickelson calls it a day he will become the most ‘sought after’ TV analyst in golf.

Mickelson’s LIV peer Ian Poulter overserved the exchange and had a proposition for the six-time major champ.

Poulter – who earlier in the week took on his critics in an explosive rant – suggested that given they will each ‘never’ be Ryder Cup captains now, they should face off in a match.

“Just put those calf muscles away,” Poulter joked. “Tartan trousers only.”

What did Mickelson say about retiring?

Mickelson told Bloomberg last week that at 53 years old he is finally considering calling it a day.

It took him a while to find the right words but he said: “My career, you know, it’s – if I’m being truthful, it’s on – it’s – it’s – it’s – I’m a – it’s towards its end.”

Despite the devastating reality check, Mickelson remains bullish about LIV’s future.

As the PGA Tour continued to cannibalise itself, Mickelson explained: “We are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before.

“I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally.

“I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Phil Mickelson had a tremendously successful career after turning pro in 1992. It’s now 2024, a total of 34 years after his professional debut, and the question of retirement seems to hover around the current LIV Golf Pro. What does the 53-year-old athlete have to say to that? Well, he did not shy away from teasing the same but with a certain catch, contrary to popular demand.

A tweet was shared by Chris McKee, a golf writer, on his X handle, mentioning how Mickelson would instantly become the “most sought-after TV analyst in golf” the instant he says goodbye to playing the game professionally. The HyFlyers GC skipper, however, was quick to shut the idea down but swiftly disclosed his own plans for the future after his retirement, all the while thinking of having fun!

What are Phil Mickelson’s plans post-retirement?

“Just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it,” said the six-time major champ bluntly after thanking him for his kind words when McKee put forth his idea of Mickelson being a TV analyst. Instead, he was keener and visibly excited about becoming an instructor-cum-sport vlogger: “I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9-hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

This falls exactly in line with what he said earlier last week during LIV Golf Singapore. He had hinted at what his retirement plans might consist of during an interview with Bloomberg TV: “I’m 53 now and my career, you know, if I’m being truthful it’s toward its end.” Aside from playing his favorite game, excelling at it with a total of 57 professional wins, including six majors, is sure to have helped him find satisfaction.

Elaborating on his thoughts, Phil Mickelson was quick to share the reasoning behind his decision as well. The athlete, apparently, wants to share with others what he was able to find in the sport while alluding to the moments he shared with the golf courses, alone or otherwise: “Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game of golf has provided me… There’s so many great things about the game of golf and I would love others to experience those things.”

As talks of his retirement arise and dominate the headline, one can’t help but reflect back on ‘Lefty’s’ career in the sport of golf. He sure made sure to leave his mark in the golfing world by being both an ex-PGA Tour Pro as well as a LIV golfer.

A look back at Phil Mickelson’s golfing career

After turning professional in 1992, he won his first PGA Tour event at the Northern Telecom Open as an amateur. By doing so, he became the 7th non-professional golfer to win an event on the PGA Tour and held that title for a whopping 32 years until the arrival of Nick Dunlap at the 2024 American Express. After his first win, he was unstoppable, garnering victory after victory to increase his tally to 45.

Out of these 45 victories, six were major championships, including three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two PGA Championship ones (2005, 2021), and a single Open Championship triumph in 2013. However, soon after his last major win, Mickelson jumped to LIV Golf, where he started leading his own team, the HyFlyers GC, all the while raking in 3 top-10 finishes over the 27 starts in three years till Singapore.

Although he has not been able to shine as brightly on LIV Golf as he did on the PGA Tour, the golfer is not someone to be underestimated. Phil Mickelson might prove you wrong when you least expect it to happen, especially with something as big as the PGA Championship coming up!

World number two Rory McIlroy says he needs that ‘little bit of something’ once he gets into contention to end his major drought. 

McIlroy, who turned 35 years old last week, has three more chances this year to end his wait.

At this point, you’ll likely know it’s been 10 years since McIlroy was victorious in one of the big four.

His last major win came when he pipped Phil Mickelson by one to the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

McIlroy prevailed by finishing his round in almost complete darkness and, at the time it represented back-to-back wins in majors after triumphing at the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy told the Belfast Telegraph that he’s leaning heavily on data to reassure him that he’s a better player now compared to that bushy-haired 25-year-old.

“There was more volatility in my game back then,” he said.

He added: “I don’t want to get too much into the data stuff, but if you look at my numbers over the last four years and compare them to earlier in my career, yeah, I’m a better player.

“The results in the biggest events haven’t married up with that, but I’m still grinding away.

“I’m a good enough player to just play my way into contention but it’s when I get into contention, say on that back nine on Sunday at Valhalla, it’s just needing that little bit of something.

“At Valhalla it was Phil and Rickie [Fowler] fist-pumping on the way to the 12th tee. Whatever it is, just tell yourself a story to get that fire going.

“Not that you should need a fire playing for a major championship. It’s the biggest thing that we do. I know that I’m a better player now than I was back then.

“And the narrative has been, ‘Rory hasn’t won a major in 10 years, so what’s going on or what’s wrong?’

“But I’ve done everything else there is to do in the game in those last 10 years. It’s just a matter of getting over the line in one of those big four.”

McIlroy will be returning to Valhalla next week.

He told the publication his abiding memory from back then was seeing Fowler and Mickelson fist-pumping during the final round that sparked a reaction.

“That almost felt like two-on-one in a way,” he said. “And I was like, ‘I’m going to get these guys.'”

Before McIlroy heads to Louisville, he will be the headline act at the Wells Fargo Championship.

He is attempting to win at Quail Hollow for the fourth time.

Should he be successful, he would take his haul of PGA Tour titles to 26.

Phil Mickelson had a tremendously successful career after turning pro in 1992. It’s now 2024, a total of 34 years after his professional debut, and the question of retirement seems to hover around the current LIV Golf Pro. What does the 53-year-old athlete have to say to that? Well, he did not shy away from teasing the same but with a certain catch, contrary to popular demand.

A tweet was shared by Chris McKee, a golf writer, on his X handle, mentioning how Mickelson would instantly become the “most sought-after TV analyst in golf” the instant he says goodbye to playing the game professionally. The HyFlyers GC skipper, however, was quick to shut the idea down but swiftly disclosed his own plans for the future after his retirement, all the while thinking of having fun!

What are Phil Mickelson’s plans post-retirement?

“Just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it,” said the six-time major champ bluntly after thanking him for his kind words when McKee put forth his idea of Mickelson being a TV analyst. Instead, he was keener and visibly excited about becoming an instructor-cum-sport vlogger: “I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9-hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

This falls exactly in line with what he said earlier last week during LIV Golf Singapore. He had hinted at what his retirement plans might consist of during an interview with Bloomberg TV: “I’m 53 now and my career, you know, if I’m being truthful it’s toward its end.” Aside from playing his favorite game, excelling at it with a total of 57 professional wins, including six majors, is sure to have helped him find satisfaction.

Elaborating on his thoughts, Phil Mickelson was quick to share the reasoning behind his decision as well. The athlete, apparently, wants to share with others what he was able to find in the sport while alluding to the moments he shared with the golf courses, alone or otherwise: “Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game of golf has provided me… There’s so many great things about the game of golf and I would love others to experience those things.”

As talks of his retirement arise and dominate the headline, one can’t help but reflect back on ‘Lefty’s’ career in the sport of golf. He sure made sure to leave his mark in the golfing world by being both an ex-PGA Tour Pro as well as a LIV golfer.

A look back at Phil Mickelson’s golfing career

After turning professional in 1992, he won his first PGA Tour event at the Northern Telecom Open as an amateur. By doing so, he became the 7th non-professional golfer to win an event on the PGA Tour and held that title for a whopping 32 years until the arrival of Nick Dunlap at the 2024 American Express. After his first win, he was unstoppable, garnering victory after victory to increase his tally to 45.

Out of these 45 victories, six were major championships, including three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two PGA Championship ones (2005, 2021), and a single Open Championship triumph in 2013. However, soon after his last major win, Mickelson jumped to LIV Golf, where he started leading his own team, the HyFlyers GC, all the while raking in 3 top-10 finishes over the 27 starts in three years till Singapore.

Although he has not been able to shine as brightly on LIV Golf as he did on the PGA Tour, the golfer is not someone to be underestimated. Phil Mickelson might prove you wrong when you least expect it to happen, especially with something as big as the PGA Championship coming up!

Phil Mickelson has seemingly reignited tensions between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf with a simple post on social media.

One of the biggest issues plaguing the rival Saudi-backed tour is the failure to receive world ranking accreditation through its tournaments. LIV first filed with the Official World Golf Ranking board in July 2022, but the bid was rejected in October.

CEO and commissioner Greg Norman abandoned that effort shortly after, which led him to publicly question the “accuracy, credibility, and integrity of the OWGR rankings” system.

With the first of four majors already complete, questions about LIV Golf’s representation on the biggest stages in golf have continued to be raised ahead of the PGA Championship next week.

In response to a post on X that pointed to a recent example of LIV players earning more from prize purses but not receiving any world ranking points, Mickelson fired back in a since-deleted post about what the future of golf might look like if no player from the LIV tour were able to compete at the majors.

“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television,” Mickelson wrote, via The Associated Press.

He ended the post with the acronym “FAAFO,” which stands for “F— around and find out.”

The post was deleted, but not before being shared on social media.

On Tuesday, The PGA of America announced the official field for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla next week. The list includes 16 LIV golfers, including seven who round out the top 100 players in the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.