Phil Mickelson demands PGA Tour action on LIV Golf stars

Golf star Phil Mickelson strongly demands an apology from the PGA Tour amid the ongoing saga surrounding the sport’s future.

On June 6, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced a surprising merger deal, which also included the DP World Tour. Many players were taken aback by the news, learning about it through news websites and social media.

This announcement has caused uncertainty about the future of golf, especially for players like Mickelson, who left the PGA Tour in 2022 to join the Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Alongside Mickelson, players such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia, and Patrick Reed also joined LIV Golf. The merger has now resulted in the creation of a new entity called ‘NewCo,’ comprising the three mentioned tours.

Following claims that Mickelson and other LIV Golf players might not receive favorable treatment for their departure from the PGA Tour, Mickelson took to Twitter, demanding an apology. He accused the PGA Tour of paying the press millions to speak ill of LIV players.

“What a colossal waste of time,” wrote Mickelson on Twitter. “Not a single player on LIV wants to play PGA Tour.

He added: “It would require a public apology and restitution to LIV players for paying millions to Clout media to disparage all of us... A better topic is future sanctions for the many players who now come to LIV.”

Despite the merger announcement being made almost two months ago, there remains considerable uncertainty about the future of golf and the implications of the merger. Tour officials were called to the U.S. Senate to discuss the proposed deal with LIV Golf, which is financially backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. A 276-page document detailing the proposed plans between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf was presented during the hearing. However, concrete information on what the sport’s future will look like post-merger remains elusive.