After playing only twenty rounds, the World #1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, has managed to grab his second green jacket at the prestigious first major of the season. As the golf realm was focused on the Augusta showdown happening on the greens, other things were taking place off the greens as well!
Phil Mickelson found himself feeling somewhat out of place! Why you may ask? Well, despite being a three-time Green Jacket winner, the 54-year-old was overlooked at the Champions dinner, a repetition of what happened in 2023 as well! One could suffice that Lefty’s defection worth $200 million is not turning out to be as fruitful as he would have wanted to be!
Phil Mickelson finds himself left out of the Masters
The incident extends beyond just the Masters; rather, it harks back to 2022, when Lefty opted to join Greg Norman’s LIV golf. While the community was initially taken aback, subsequent revelations about Mickelson’s contract continued to fuel the surprising turn of events. Mickelson stood out as the most accomplished golfer in the Saudi-backed league and aspired to become its prominent figurehead, just like Tiger Woods, is to the PGA Tour and has now ascended to Vice Chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises.
Lefty was the adamant LIV Golf loyalist who spoke highly of the league, whenever he could, and often engaged in controversial remarks. Whether it was backing his fellow LIV golfers or the league, he was just there. While doing so, the 54-year-old also shared his sentiments over the LIV Golfer and the PGA Tour merger several times, with a recent one being backing “not sustainable” remarks by Rory McIlroy.
However, following a series of events, Mickelson’s aspirations began to crumble, and the golfer found himself excluded from crucial matters such as the merger. Most recently, Lefty addressed questions regarding the PGA Tour’s meeting with Yasir al-Rumayyan last month at the Masters. The LIV golfer responded, “Others are handling that. I’m not involved. Others are taking care of that.”
On the other hand, when the 15x champion was asked about the merger, his response was, “I don’t know if we’re closer, but certainly we’re headed in the right direction.” Pretty opposite to what Lefty mentioned. This somewhat goes to show that Lefty, despite being a celebrated golfer with so much legacy on the PGA Tour (that he forego) is not being given the status of an experienced veteran golfer on LIV Golf, unlike Woods.
While this indicated the current state of being sidelined from the situation, a comparable incident also took place at the Champions dinner in Augusta National.
What happened at the championship dinner?
Before the Masters, amidst a room brimming with professional golfers, the three-time Masters Champion remained silent while seated beside Nick Faldo. Later, Faldo revealed to Sky Sports that “Phil was very quiet on Tuesday; he didn’t say a word.” “He was dead quiet, standing next to me. I wonder why.”
Furthermore, Lefty wasn’t even part of the three-day schedule for the Masters press conference, which included 14 players. However, during the same press conference, Tiger Woods was granted a 90-minute slot, prompting reactions from Mickelson fans such as labeling it an “absolute disgrace.”
As Phil Mickelson hopes to become the face of LIV golf, his dreams are crumbling, while Woods has ascended to becoming a major part of the $3 billion merger decision. Do you think there will be opportunities for the Lefty in the future, or could this signify the end of Mickelson’s era? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
