Phil Mickelson says LIV ‘not going away’ as Rory McIlroy fears ‘irreparable’ split
- World No 1 Rory McIlroy says the ‘us versus them’ mentality between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has gotten ‘way out of control’
- The conflict has gone beyond statements from players and is now in the legal sphere with several lawsuits already under way
Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson says the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series is a “force in the game that is not going away” after world number one Rory McIlroy expressed fear of an “irreparable” split.
The LIV season concludes at the Trump National club at Doral, near Miami, this weekend with a team championship featuring an eye-watering $50 million purse.
The animosity LIV’s breakaway has caused has left McIlroy worried for the game, but at the media launch for the event, Mickelson said LIV Golf had already defied expectations and was here to stay.
“If I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away,” he said.
Sitting on a platform with Open winner Cameron Smith, former Masters winner Bubba Watson and English Ryder Cup favourite Ian Poulter, Mickelson said the quality of talent in the LIV series was “moving professional golf throughout the world and (creating an) excitement level in the countries around the world.”
