Phil Mickelson has listed three key aspects of LIV Golf that their rivals at the PGA Tour are keen to adopt themselves, having had his say on the ever-changing landscape of the sport in recent years.

Mickelson became the first marque name to commit himself to the Saudi-backed league over two years ago, and has not looked back since having led a whole host of huge names to the LIV setup. One of the key reasons for Mickelson making his move was the lack of media rights players possessed whilst competing on the PGA Tour.

“It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on,’’ Mickelson told Golf Digest back in February 2022. “But 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…

“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.

“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.” Mickelson’s comments were well documented at the time, as he brought an end to his 30-year relationship with the PGA Tour.

Two years on though, professional golf is in a slightly healthier position, with the PGA Tour in active negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) over ending their dispute with LIV. In the meantime, Mickelson has looked back on the saga, and outlined the changes that the impact of LIV Golf has created in the game for players on both sides of the fallout.

We have elevated events every week out here on LIV,” he told Bloomberg. Adding two more positives to his list, he went on: “We have equity, and we have the ability to use or social media platforms however we want to promote the game. This is starting to change now, and is changing on the PGA Tour.”

And Mickelson may well have a point, with the breakaway league’s mega-money lure seemingly forcing the hand of the PGA Tour. Jay Monahan and co have implemented ‘Signature Events’ to the schedule, with eight tournaments matching the £15.8 million ($20m) purse of LIV events.

The PGA Tour have also recently introduced a ‘Player Equity Program’, with members allotted shares in the circuit’s for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. The share model is one followed by LIV, who allow their players to take equity and ownership of the 13 different franchises that compete on the circuit.

Phil Mickelson believes a peace deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is not necessary having had his say on the ongoing negotiations between the Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

Mickelson has found himself at the centre of the fallout between the PGA Tour and LIV, having led an exodus of top stars in making the Saudi switch. Last June however, the bad blood between the two tours appeared to be coming to an end following the shock announcement of the framework agreement.

Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed that the American-based circuit had entered talks with PIF, with peace within the professional game appearing to be a priority for both sides.

Over 12 months a deal is yet to be finalised with talks ongoing, and whilst the end of the civil war appears to be growing closer, six-time major winner Mickelson has doubted as to whether a truce is even needed. “Is it necessary that there is a merger? Probably not,” he told Bloomberg.

“But it would be a good thing if there was not any hostility.” Mickelson appeared to cut all of his ties with the PGA Tour when opting to leave in search of pastures new with the breakaway league. Despite this, the three-time Masters champion admitted he may well have to let go some of frustrations with the Tour in order to move on.

“I need to let that stuff go,” he added. “I need to let go of all of those experiences I have had in the past that were less than positive. I need to let go of my hostilities, and we all do for the better of the game.” Those in the game have however been left frustrated by the ongoing wait for unification.

Following the initial framework agreement announcement last June, the two sides confirmed a deadline of December 31, 2023 to complete the deal but this was of course missed. It was then claimed that hopes were then pointed towards completion by the Masters in April, but again it was not to be.

Per Mickelson biographer Alan Shipnuck, a ‘draft agreement’ between the Tour and PIF had been signed ahead of this month’s U.S. Open, but it remains to be seen what this means for the two rival tours in the near future. Amid the report, Monahan revealed in a memo to players that there was still work to do, despite some progress.

“PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee met in New York with Yasir Al–Rumayyan, as well as members of his team,” he wrote. “During that meeting, we reached consensus on several items, but both parties recognise that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement.

“Our talks are ongoing with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities.

“Manipulative, Coercive,” and “Obnoxiously Greedy” were the few harsh terms Phil Mickelson used while thrashing the PGA Tour over mistreatment, as reported in an excerpt of Alan Shipnuck’s biography of Lefty, ‘Phil: The Rip-Roaring.’ Over the past two years, Mickelson had been in a rift with the PGA Tour as he lost his membership in the league.

However, now it seems that Mickelson is ready to move from past woes and has extended an olive branch toward the PGA Tour to let go of the negatives and build a future for golf.

Phil Mickelson has moved on from all that was less-than-good

In an interview with Bloomberg, Phil Mickelson explained how LIV Golf’s existence brought out the best in the PGA Tour. He asserted that the competition between the two leagues has advanced the game to a newer level. Thus, a merger, whether it happens or not, might not be necessary, but the need of the hour.

The 54-year-old recounted the past feud with the PGA Tour and said, “It would be a good thing if there wasn’t any hostility”. The host Hadlisnda Amin asked the 6-time major winner if he would be able to rebuild a relationship with the PGA Tour in case of a unification, to which Lefty emphasized that bygones should be bygones.“I need to let that stuff go. I need to let go of all the experiences that I’ve had in the past that were less than positive,” Mickelson answered.

LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson got into the fun after President Biden and former President Trump debated their handicaps during the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday night.

Mickelson on Friday wrote on X that he didn’t think the two leaders were getting personal with each other until it came to their golf game.

“After watching the debate last night, I feel it never got personal until they started talking golf handicaps and who hits the longest drives. As a golfer, I get it,” Mickelson wrote.

Trump raised the issue when discussing his fitness, saying he had recently “won two club championships — not even senior — two regular club championships.”

“To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way, and I do it,” he continued. “[Biden] doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match — he can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”

Biden, challenged by the remark, argued that he had managed to get his handicap down to six when he was vice president.

But Trump, an avid golfer, wasn’t buying it.

“That’s the biggest lie — that he’s a six handicap — of all,” he replied.

Bryson DeChambeau, a fellow golfer on the LIV circuit, brought up the idea of hosting Trump and Biden in a match on his YouTube channel.

For now, golf fans might have to just settle for the debate stage.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report

Phil Mickelson, a six-time major winner and golf hall of famer, believes he will be most remembered for LIV Golf, the tour surrounded by controversy he’s headlined for the past two years.

Talking this week on the Fairway to Heaven podcast, a LIV Golf-backed show, Mickelson was answering a question from co-host Jerry Foltz about legacy. Notably, after the response, Foltz then asked a similar question.

For clarity, below is the first exchange, started by Foltz:

“I did a recent podcast in Houston — I think you saw some snippets of it — with a guy named Will Kunkel. Great questions he asked, nothing was out of bounds,” Foltz said on the podcast. “And he asked me: What will Phil Mickelson’s — what will be his flowers at his funeral? His way of saying his legacy. What will your legacy be when all is said and done? What do you think?”

“Well, I mean I think hopefully LIV Golf,” Mickelson said, “and helping get the game to a younger crowd, helping get the game to younger players and giving them infrastructure to become great, helping to grow the game on a global basis. Like, all the things LIV Golf is doing. I feel very connected to the success.”

Unquestionably, LIV Golf has impacted professional golf. The headlines have been seemingly countless. In 2022, LIV, offering guaranteed money behind billions from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), launched, and players from the PGA Tour, the established brand, bolted. A year later, the Tour and the PIF shook hands over a funding arrangement. But the sides remain talking  — and in January, the Tour took another deal, from a collection of pro sports owners that’s christened itself the Strategic Sports Group. Notably over the past two years, the Tour has enacted several changes to entice its pros to stay — among them, player equity and “signature events” that feature limited fields and bigger purses — while LIV plays on with 54-player, no-cut fields.

Questions remain. Will the tours remain apart? Will more Tour pros join LIV? Can the sides come together? What does reunification look like? Progress to the deal between the PIF and the Tour has been made, the Tour has said, but details have been scarce.

For Mickelson’s part, he’d been one of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars, thanks to the major wins and a devil-may-care style of play. But, in an interview published in early 2022, while discussing the benefits of the yet-to-start LIV league, he’d also controversially commented on the Saudi funding, and he’s been among the pros to play with LIV since its start.

On the Fairway to Heaven podcast, after Mickelson’s initial answer to the question on his legacy, Foltz asked this:

“Do you think that [LIV Golf] will be your lasting legacy?”

Mickelson said yes.

“I sure hope so,” he said on the podcast, “because it wasn’t an option — like elevated events and equity in the tour wasn’t an option for the guys that came to LIV. And so the fact that we are invested and involved and integrated into the success of LIV — and I’m happy for the guys on the Tour that they now have all that stuff because they should.

“But where we’re at, we’re attracting a different crowd. And we’re attracting a global crowd. And that’s critical to the long-term success of the game. And it’s something that the old model of the Tour would never transcend into because you couldn’t get all the guys to go travel the world and play over there and again attract players that don’t play the game of golf to want to watch. And so I think LIV Golf is doing that and I’m hopeful that my connection with LIV and hopeful the success of LIV will be what I’m known for.”

Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson anticipates sticking with the LIV Golf tour for the foreseeable.

That’s despite faltering performances this season and rumors concerning his imminent departure from professional golf, Mickelson remains committed to the league.

Even though his displays have been less than stellar lately – with the American 43rd in LIV Golf’s standings – Mickelson made a remarkable comeback at the 2023 Masters, clinching second place. But this was his highest-ranking finish in nearly three decades.

However, his subsequent struggles on the breakaway circuit and high-profile departure from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed league have attracted substantial criticism.

In an interview on the Fairway to Heaven podcast, Mickelson expressed his determination to remain in the league despite these challenges. He said:”I knew the first two years were going to be rough – and here we are, two years in now, and it’s totally different. We’re having a blast here. We’re having so much fun.”

Mickelson currently captains the HyFlyers team in LIV Golf, which sadly ranks second-to-last out of 13 teams. Regardless, the 54-year-old veteran golfer expresses no regrets about how things unfolded and embraces the idea of linking his legacy to his transition to the LIV Golf tour.

When asked about his legacy with LIV, he responded: “I sure hope so, because it wasn’t an option — like elevated events and equity in the tour wasn’t an option for the guys that came to LIV.

“And so the fact that we are invested and involved and integrated into the success of LIV — and I’m happy for the guys on the Tour that they now have all that stuff because they should. But where we’re at, we’re attracting a different crowd. And we’re attracting a global crowd.

“And that’s critical to the long-term success of the game. And it’s something that the old model of the Tour would never transcend into because you couldn’t get all the guys to go travel the world and play over there and again attract players that don’t play the game of golf to want to watch. I think LIV Golf is doing that and I’m hopeful that my connection with LIV and hopeful the success of LIV will be what I’m known for.”

Phil Mickelson has been ripped by fans online for his hilarious dance moves, as seen in a video from Nashville.

Mickelson and his HyFlyers team have traveled down south ahead of a LIV Golf tournament at The Grove this weekend.

And the 54-year-old embraced the city’s music culture as he was spotted busting out some moves ahead of the tournament.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 176,000 times on the HyFlyers X account, Mickelson can be seen line dancing as he wears a black cowboy hat and bandana.

And fans were quick to mock the six-time major winner after the clip was posted.

‘I cant stop watching. So awful. Yet so good,’ one said.

‘What did I just watch. Good lord what money does to people,’ another said of Mickelson, who received a reported $200million signing fee upon joining the Saudi-backed LIV.

Another joked, ‘PGA players could never.’

And a different X user imagined a hilarious scenario around the video.

‘Imagine showing up to a bar absolutely hammered and seeing Phil Mickelson dancing in a cowboy hat.’

Mickelson’s dance outing comes after he missed the cut at last weekend’s US Open.

The cut at Pinehurst was +5, and Mickelson was nowhere close to moving on with a +15 mark after two rounds.

Mickelson’s HyFlyers are also struggling this season, as they’re 11th of 13 teams in the LIV standings.

His last major win came at the 2021 PGA Championship, as he became the oldest-ever major champ at 50 years and 11 months.

How long has it been since Phil Mickelson won a major? Very! With his 2021 PGA Championship win, he became the oldest major winner, but things have been slow ever since. In the last 2 years, 2 decorated LIV golfers have won major events: Brooks Koepka, 2023 PGA Championship, and Bryson DeChambeau, 2024 US Open. The Saudi-backed league offered a huge amount to the former PGA Tour pros who switched, including DeChambeau and Mickelson.

Interestingly, Mickelson received around $200 million, and DeChambeau received around $125 million. DeChambeau, however, revealed on the “Country Club Adjacent” podcast that the reported amount is “a little low” compared to the actual figure, though it’s somewhat close. Considering these figures, enthusiasts believe that LIV used Mickelson’s name only to attract the attention of fans. After all, Lefty was one of the most celebrated players in his young days with 45 PGA Tour wins, including 6 major championships. The common consensus is that he does not hold that value anymore!  Why is that?

In 2024, the 54-year-old has been seen struggling on the greens! At this year’s Masters, he finished T-43, just making the cut. In the following two majors, however, he fell short and missed the cut. On the contrary, DeChambeau finished at T6 at Augusta, T2 at Valhalla, and well, T1 at Pinehurst. Recently, @PGATUOR, a spoof page of the PGA Tour shared a post on X featuring both Mickelson and DeChambeau and their LIV Golf contract sum, and it served as a reminder that Mickelson is yet to deliver any remarkable performances.

The focus of this post was not on his achievements but rather on highlighting the disparity in payments between the two golfers. This sparked various sentiments in the comment section from fans, who responded to the comparison in different ways.

What are fans’ views on the comparison between Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson?

Referring to the 54-year-old’s accomplishments, one fan remarked, “Mickelson was the shiny thing to attract attention.” They pointed out that Mickelson’s six major titles had already made him well-known in the community, and LIV chose to capitalize on his reputation to draw attention.

Echoing similar thoughts, this fan commented, “Phil was the bait to get others to join… and he’s like 53 years old.” When Mickelson joined the Saudi league, he was one of the biggest names in golf, with remarkable achievements to his name. They also observed that although he is the oldest major winner, the golfer now holds less chance of teeing up against young golfers like Ludvig Aberg and Scottie Scheffler.