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. 

If LIV Golf wants to increase its viewership – and, be honest, in these worrying times of a mass switch-off,

every Tour worthy of its TV deal wishes for nothing more – it should screen the moment Phil Mickelson tells Brooks Koepka he must boycott the majors to stand in unison with Talor Gooch.

It would be utterly captivating and a surefire pay-per-view blockbuster.

Alas, it will never happen because not even Phil The Thrill is brave or stupid enough to take on that challenge. However, the six-time major winner – one ahead of Koepka – did suggest that something akin to this scenario could be possible in a bizarre tweet that risks damaging his reputation yet further.

Last weekend, in a reply to a post from the popular Flushing It account that stressed LIV’s unequal struggle to land exemptions into the majors for its members, Mickelson replied with the following:

“What if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year, or the year after? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO.”

As I am down with the kids, I know that “FAAFO” stands for “F— around and find out”, which essentially crystallised Mickelson’s threat. One out, all out. Power to the people. Let’s picket Magnolia Lane.

For what it’s worth (or, in Mickelson speak FWIW), I believe the majors should make provisions in their qualifying criteria to grant direct access via the LIV money list.

Good on the PGA of America for inviting Gooch to next week’s USPGA and even though it is ludicrous that the 2023 LIV champion has refused to enter qualifying for either the US Open or Open in presumably some show of martyrdom – Joan of Arc must be twitching in her spikes – his displays over the past few years on the Saudi-funded circuit demand he should be included in all four.

Fair enough, he made his bed, but the Big Four must want to showcase the best against the best and if you look at the champions who Gooch has bettered for a sustained spell then he should be there at next week’s USPGA and at Pinehurst for the US Open and Royal Troon for the Open.

Patrick Reed is another who will be absent from Valhalla next week as his streak of 40 straight majors comes to an end, although at least he is having a crack at the latter two. Meanwhile, as the 2010 champion, Louis Oosthuizen will be at the Open, but should also be in North Carolina and be assured of a berth at the US Open. The tournaments will be poorer without them, in my opinion (IMO).

Furthermore, this “problem” is going to become more pronounced in the next few years unless things change. Dustin Johnson is in danger of having no exemption for the 2025 USPGA at Quail Hollow and the year after could be left stranded for the Open at Royal Birkdale. The same could apply to Bryson DeChambeau, whose exemptions for winning the 2020 US Open run out next year.

The word is that as “soon” as a deal is struck between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund – the Saudi funders of LIV – a direct pathway will be opened. But why and what exactly has that got to with the majors?

Between them, Augusta, the PGA of America, the US Golf Association and the R&A refused to bestow official world ranking status to LIV and thus backed themselves into a corner that could hurt their competitions. A solution must be found.

But a strike? Seriously. No wonder that Mickelson’s tweet was deleted by Monday morning. It was anything but helpful and reminded of that time in 2022 when Majed Al Sorour, then the LIV managing director, gloriously attempted to raise two fingers. “If the majors decide not to have our players play?” he said. “I will celebrate. I will create my own majors for my players.”

By the start of 20-23, he had stepped down. Even Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, seems to recognise that there are some things money – not even an entire Kingdom overflowing with the stuff – cannot buy. Mickelson might be advised to remember that.

LIV can only pile more pressure on the establishment by signing more star names and if the negotiations continue to hit brick walls then this will surely be the tactic. What will not work is a laughable Mickelson warning.

Certainly, the majors will have given a unanimous harrumph. If anything has become clear in this sporting civil war it is that a) the majors matter more than ever and b) the professionals are more entitled and self-centred than ever. The notion of this lot ever grouping together and doing something they consider to be for the collective good and not simply for their own gain is as comical as it is sad. As Paul McGinley puts it, “it’s like trying to herd cats”.

Some of this lot – indeed, many – cannot see that they are already overpaid considering the interest they muster and the entertainment they provide and just want more and more. There is no end to their greed or to their sense of superiority. They are not simply slaying the golden goose, so much as hauling it onto a marble slab and smashing three-irons into its nether regions. It is a rather grotesque spectacle.

A famous coach, who shall remain nameless, has long said that “99 per cent of golfers who become successful pros eventually turn into w——”. Yet after the last three seasons it can only be presumed that the coach has revised his estimate. Upwards.

Golf legend Phil Mickelson is predicting a possible grim future for the four major championships should the sport’s governing bodies continue to prevent LIV Golf players with a pathway into the biggest tournaments of the season. 

Mickelson, 53, might be one of 11 LIV Golf players entered into next week’s US PGA, but the six-time major champion believes the number should be much bigger given the strength in depth of players on the Saudi-bankrolled circuit in 2024.

Lefty rewrote the record books at the 2021 US PGA when he became the oldest major champion in history aged 50.

It also marked the second time he had etched his name on the famous Wanamaker Trophy having first done so in 2005.

But back to Mickelson’s latest tweet, which has since been deleted, and LIV Golf’s $200m man is predicting a grim future for the four major championships.

Prior to the start of this month, only nine LIV Golf players were exempt to compete in next week’s US PGA Championship at Valhalla.

But news emerged this afternoon that Talor Gooch and David Puig have both been handed invites, taking LIV Golf up to 11 participants in the second major of the season.

It now remains to be seen if the US PGA decides to invite any more players.

A similar story could play out for both the US Open and The Open, but much will depend on how many LIV Golf players come through the qualifying events.

It is understood approximately 40 LIV Golf players will attempt to come through both US Open and Open qualifying this summer.

Gooch will not be one of them though.

Mickelson’s views came to light when he responded to Flushing It’s post on X / Twitter.

Scroll below to check out what was said…

Flushing It tweeted about LIV Golf’s ongoing struggle to get their players entered in the majors as a direct result of their tournaments still being omitted from receiving any Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in 2024.

Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are among the LIV Golf players who have been forced to rely on previous major wins to secure a place in the biggest tournaments

Phil Mickelson expects other renowned golfers to follow his lead and join LIV Golf, piling further pressure on major tournaments to change. Mickelson predicts the Open and other major championships will have to bend to LIV’s demands, as it snares the sport’s biggest names.

LIV members are currently barred from qualifying for major championships through the tour, which isn’t recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking. As a consequence, LIV golfers have plummeted in the rankings.

This means players like Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are relying on past major triumphs to guarantee their places.

While Mickelson, Johnson and DeChambeau have secured spots in the PGA Championship at Valhalla this month due to major victories within the last five years, stars such as Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer will miss out in Kentucky despite their impressive resumes and abilities.

Mickelson has been a prominent supporter of LIV Golf since joining as a founder in 2022. He firmly believes LIV players will soon have a path to qualify for majors, as the league continues its pursuit of elite talent.

“Maybe some of the LIV players won’t be missed, but what if none of the LIV players played? ” Mickelson wrote in a now-deleted post on X, referring to the absence of prominent LIV players at Valhalla. “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’s belief that LIV will continue to attract top players is not unfounded. The league has successfully managed to sign European Ryder Cup stars Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton ahead of its third season, and commissioner Greg Norman is optimistic about securing more of the PGA Tour’s biggest names in the future.