DORAL, Fla. — One of the most beloved fans at the LIV golf Team Championship in Miami has returned home early.
Cameron Smith defeated Phil Mickelson on Friday’s final hole to end the deal for his team’s loss to Australia’s Punch GC in quarterfinals. This was the conclusion of a turbulent year for six-time major champion.
Lefty became the oldest major champion at the PGA Championship in 2021. But, it was for the wrong reasons. In February, he claimed that the PGA Tour was obnoxiously rich. Then, he told the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck – a writer on Mickelson – that the Saudis were “scary mom(expletive).” He downplayed the murders of Washington Post reporters Jamal Khashoggi, the Kingdom’s poor human rights record, and saw a four-month hiatus to play at the LIV’s first tournament outside London.
Mickelson was unable to find his form in the 54-hole, 48-player LIV events. He finished inside the top 20 only twice, in two of his three previous events. His other five starts saw him finish T-33 or worse. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open as well as the British Open.
“I’m going to be in the majors the next three years so I didn’t plan on playing this year. I had to retrain my mindset to get out of here. Mickelson explained that I didn’t do well my first time around. “I am starting to play better golf. So heading into the offseason, I will put in some work and see if it is possible to make a nice run over the next few years and play at a level I feel comfortable with. I am starting to play better golf.
Mickelson, an eternal optimist, looked forward to Thursday’s round after the event and noted how far the circuit had come in the eight months since his incendiary remarks.
“I am quite surprised at how far LIV came because there was so much uncertainty about who would play in London. Mickelson said that the strength of the league is evident now, with a lot more strong players than ever before and a lot more strong characters. “Whether you like them or not, there are a lot of men here that people want.
The 52-year old also mentioned a desire to have more LIV events go international when the series transitions into the 14-event LIV Golf League. He went so far as to say, “We’re seeing a lot of tournaments on multiple tour coming to us wanting a LIV Event.” Could this mean that a bridge could be constructed to fill the gap between LIV, the PGA and DP World Tours? It will be interesting to see what the future holds.
“I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know where all of that should or could go. Mickelson stated that there are many possibilities, and it is not clear how they will play out. “I know that over the next year, there will be a lot of things, and things will sort of work out.”
