Phil Mickelson deletes strongly worded tweet warning major championships over lack of LIV players

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[PHOTO: Asanka Ratnayake]

Phil Mickelson has no problem voicing his opinion on any golf topic, but on Sunday he wound up taking something back regarding the major championships.

Amid a T-22 finish at the LIV Golf Singapore event, Mickelson responded to a tweet about a lack of LIV golfers in major-championship fields by saying those four events could be in trouble “next year when more great players join” LIV. He finished his message with the acronym “FAAFO”, which stands for “f–k around and find out”.

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The six-time major champion was responding to a tweet from the @flushingitgolf handle saying the new league’s “No.1 priority” should be getting their players access into golf’s four biggest events. Currently the main pathway is via the Official World Golf Ranking, which still doesn’t recognise LIV events.

Mickelson deleted his tweet, but you can still see it here:

“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed,” Mickelson wrote in his now-deleted post. “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. FAAFO.”

Mickelson is one of many LIV players to voice his displeasure with the current system. Talor Gooch, the reigning LIV Player of the Year, has been particularly vocal because he’s not qualified for any 2024 major despite winning three LIV events in 2023. And Gooch recently made it clear he would not be trying to qualify for the US Open.

The 53-year-old Mickelson received a five-year exemption into all the majors for winning the 2021 PGA Championship. As a former winner of the PGA, Masters and Open Championship, he has a lifetime exemption into those three majors (the Open Championship has a 60-year-old age limit).

After butting heads with the OWGR for a couple of years, LIV gave up its bid for world-ranking points in March.

The next major, the PGA Championship, will be held next week at Valhalla. LIV golfer Brooks Koepka is the defending champion.