OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Phil Mickelson’s LIV golf days are over, evidence confirm Bubba Watson will meet the same fate
Evidence confirm Phil Mickelson’s LIV Golf playing days are over with Bubba Watson to suffer same fate
Phil Mickelson’s LIV Golf playing days may be over with Bubba Watson to suffer same fate
Phil Mickelson has been struggling for form since joining LIV Golf in 2022, and the six-time major champion’s next move with the breakaway league could be a non-playing role
When Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson’s current league contracts expire, it’s possible that they’ll join Bubba Watson in a non-playing capacity at LIV Golf.
With his loyalty to the Saudi-backed league already established prior to its first event in June 2022, Mickelson was the catalyst for the start of the player exodus from the PGA Tour to the LIV setup. The six-time major winner has been a constant on the circuit ever since, but his playing days may be coming to an end soon.
Alan Shipnuck, the biographer for Mickelson, speculates that the 53-year-old’snextcontract with the breakaway league may be as a non-playing captain.
Greg Norman and company gave a four-year contract to each of the team captains as well as to Talor Gooch, the 2023 individual champion. According to Shipnuck, players will reopen talks with league management at the end of 2025, and Mickelson and Watson might withdraw from the on-course competition.
After struggling to regain the form that made him one of the greatest players in history during his PGA Tour career, Mickelson has only finished in the top 10 in 20 events on the LIV circuit. Even Watson, the two-time winner of the Masters, has struggled.
RangeGoats captain Watson has only once finished in the top-10 in his first full season on the Saudi-backed series; his best LIV performance occurred in Tulsa last May. The former Green Jacket winner, who hasn’t been able to find his best form, has previously talked about his future on the circuit.
Speaking at LIV Greenbrier last summer, Watson acknowledged that if his teammates desired it, he would be willing to play a supporting role with the RangeGoats. “I told my team they could fire me and replace me with another talented golfer if they didn’t think I was good enough to play.
“I’m not leaving until they tell me to stop.” I adore supporting the young men. Everybody is attempting to improve both personally and as a golfer. In my life, I have the opportunity to mentor three golfers who are all young fathers and parents. I want to be there for them and be able to assist them if they need it.”
In recent years, Mickelson has also promised to give up golf, but there’s a catch. The U.S. Open is the only major championship title the American has not yet won, but one victory will complete his career Grand Slam.
And he would end his playing career there if he could finally cross the finish line in his home Open. In February 2022, he told Golf Digest, “If I win the US Open, I will retire.” That would be my final competition. I won’t have anything more to prove because I will have completed my career Grand Slam.
