Phil Mickelson has seemingly reignited tensions between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf with a simple post on social media.
One of the biggest issues plaguing the rival Saudi-backed tour is the failure to receive world ranking accreditation through its tournaments. LIV first filed with the Official World Golf Ranking board in July 2022, but the bid was rejected in October.
Phil Mickelson on the fourth tee during the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2024, in Georgia. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
CEO and commissioner Greg Norman abandoned that effort shortly after, which led him to publicly question the “accuracy, credibility, and integrity of the OWGR rankings” system.
With the first of four majors already complete, questions about LIV Golf’s representation on the biggest stages in golf have continued to be raised ahead of the PGA Championship next week.
In response to a post on X that pointed to a recent example of LIV players earning more from prize purses but not receiving any world ranking points, Mickelson fired back in a since-deleted post about what the future of golf might look like if no player from the LIV tour were able to compete at the majors.
Phil Mickelson during Day Two of the LIV Golf Invitational at Trump National Doral Miami on Oct. 21, 2023. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television,” Mickelson wrote, via The Associated Press.
He ended the post with the acronym “FAAFO,” which stands for “F— around and find out.”
The post was deleted, but not before being shared on social media.
Rory McIlroy watches his shot from the sixth tee, as Phil Mickelson looks on, during the Zozo Championship @ Sherwood on Oct. 22, 2020, in Thousand Oaks, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)