Phil Mickelson Was Never Anti-Merger, Lefty’s Recent PGA Tour-PIF Remarks Are a Dramatic Turn From His ‘Awesome Day’ Stance

He wasn’t too pleased with the PGA Tour back in 2022. The rationale behind Lefty’s feelings? Well, the 54-year-old had dished out one too many, with his primary one being related to the limited media rights of PGA Tour Pros. Even so, he was receptive to the merger while celebrating the “awesome day” when the framework agreement was announced. But as times change, so does Phil Mickelson. The golfer, come June 2024, was spotted mentioning how LIV Golf’s presence has changed things in the sport. He even pointed out how the merger was ‘not necessary’.

“We have elevated events every week out here on LIV,” said Mickelson in an interview with Bloomberg, as per The Mirror. He also mentioned how the current situation in the PGA Tour was changing, all thanks to the PIF-funded circuit, “We have equity, and we have the ability to use our social media platforms however we want to promote the game. This is starting to change now, and is changing on the PGA Tour.”

The HyFlyers GC skipper was alluding to the recent happenings on the circuit with Jay Monahan rolling out eight elevated events providing a prize purse of $20 million per contest. Moreover, the deal that the league had with SSG led to the formation of the PGA TOUR Enterprises. This, in turn, allowed players a cut of the dollar bills as per the ‘Player Equity Program,’ just like LIV players having ownership in the 13 teams.

Amidst all of these developments, the talks for the deal between PIF and the PGA Tour are still ongoing. And Mickelson has now grown to doubt the necessity of it all. “Is it necessary that there is a merger? Probably not,” said the golfer, “But, it would be a good thing if there was not any hostility.”

The 54-year-old was hopeful that the situation would become much better for the whole sport even if there was no merger. “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… of my hostilities, and we all do for the better of the game.” The professional seemed to be referring to the remarks he made about the men’s circuit two years back.

Phil Mickelson’s anti-PGA Tour comments in 2022

Mickelson had, in February 2022, divulged his thoughts on the Jay Monahan-led circuit with Golf Digest. He highlighted how player freedom is restricted by the league when he said, “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.”

The golfer then recounted the instances back when he played in ‘The Match’. Apparently, the LIV Golf Pro had to pay the circuit money to receive his own rights for the event, “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.”

The HyFlyers GC skipper has even used many words to denote the men’s circuit including “Manipulative, Coercive,” and “Obnoxiously Greedy,” as per Alan Shipnuck. Regardless of the past, he seems to have turned over a new leaf and extended an olive branch to the PGA Tour. But whether Monahan will accept it stands to be seen!