Phil Mickelson sent a stern warning to the Major Championships that they may “F*** Around and Find Out” if LIV Golfers are not able to qualify for the four most prestigious golf tournaments of the year.
One of the most controversial aspects of the Major Championships is that LIV Golfers who are not automatically qualified through a past victory or other guidelines are having trouble making it to the tournaments.
This is mostly due to LIV Golf not qualifying for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
There are some fans who wish to see big names like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson in the Major Championships. There are also a variety of other names in LIV that are highly competitive but may not be able to play in the Majors without a Special Exemption.
Joaquin Niemann is one of these players, as The Masters sent him a special invitation to compete in April. But these invitations are few and far between.
Eventually, fewer and fewer LIV Golfers will be in the field. Some have even rumoredly discussed not showing up for Majors they qualify for as a bit of a protest against the OWGR.
How will golf fans feel when that happens? Phil Mickelson speculated in a now-deleted X post:
“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. What if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year or the year after? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO.”
Mickelson has been one of the most outspoken players to play with LIV Golf, and his narratives, although controversial, are interesting. This one especially, because it could be true that some players could eventually decide not to play at the four biggest tournaments of the year.
Talor Gooch recently admitted, for example, that he will not even try to qualify for the U.S. Open.
Mickelson might know a thing or two about what could happen, so it might be worth keeping an eye on how LIV Golfers treat the Majors moving forward.