Phil Mickelson makes 'bullish' LIV Golf prediction in major warning to PGA Tour

Phil Mickelson has been at the centre of the saga surrounding the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and the six-time major champion has had is say on the future of the sport

By: irishmirror.ie

May 02 2024
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Phil Mickelson makes 'bullish'

Phil Mickelson believes LIV Golf will only continue to attract big-name players in the coming years, which will no doubt prove a worry for the breakaway league's rivals over on the PGA Tour.

LIV has catapulted itself to the top end of professional golf over the past two years alongside the PGA Tour, leading to an ugly dispute between the two circuits. Having lured in the likes of Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, the Tour has looked to stifle the progress of the Saudi-backed series by banning any player who makes the switch.

Rahm became the latest big star to make the move last December, in what was arguably LIV's biggest coup yet as they signed the former Masters champion via deal worth a reported £450 million.

And looking forward, Mickelson believes Greg Norman and co will only continue to add to their roster. "I think there's a lot of things that are going to transpire over the next five or ten years. I'm very bullish and excited about what that means for LIV Golf," the six-time major winner claimed ahead of LIV Singapore.

"There's also a lot of uncertainty. I think the thing that I do know is I think the quality of the players will continue to get better each year. I think that the ability and the sites that we move to throughout the world will continue to excite players and excite fans."

The uncertainty Mickelson was referring to is the proposed peace agreement that continues to be negotiated between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). Announced last June, the deal is set to end the hostilities within the game, reuniting the best players in the world.

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Phil Mickelson celebrates with the LIV Adelaide crowd — Phil Mickelson believes LIV Golf will attract more big names (Image: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

As things stand though, an agreement is yet to be signed off after those involved missed their initial deadline of December 31 at the end of 2023. Whilst it remains up in the air as to what the outlook for the whole sport is, Mickelson's LIV colleague Bryson DeChambeau is optimistic about the breakaway league.

"The future of LIV. We know it's going to be here, bigger, badder and better than ever before," DeChambeau said on Wednesday. "It's just going to continue to keep growing over the next five to ten years."

In particular, the former U.S. Open champion believes the team element of LIV will take off following the success of the league's maiden team playoff in Adelaide last week. "I think the competition between the teams will get heightened.

"The rivalries will get heightened. There's already some sort of rivalries going on right now, but as the years go on and people are going to win championships, that team championship at the end of the year last year like the Crushers did, I think there's going to be a lot of rivalries to be produced that you'll see, and it's stories to be told I think will be pretty insane over the next five to ten years."