Phil Mickelson is not pleased with major golf tournaments denying the entry of LIV Golfers due to their world rankings.
Phil Mickelson has never been shy of speaking his mind and he has done just that once again. In a now-deleted tweet, the six-time major champion issued a stern warning to major golf tournaments if they keep on denying the entry of LIV Golfers.
The big issue for LIV Golf is the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) points. The 54-hole circuit does not get these points which affects the players’ rankings. One major qualification criteria for the four major championships are the rankings.
Usually, the top 80 golfers in the OWGR qualify for the major events. At the moment, LIV Golf only has three members in Jon Rahm (5th), Brooks Koepka (36th) and Cameron Smith (55th) in the top 80 rankings. This makes it difficult for other LIV golfers to participate in this major events.
As the debate regarding OWGR continues, an X account named Flushing It, took a dig at the Volvo China Open for awarding OWGR points to their participants while LIV continues to be left behind. This tweet lead to Phil Mickelson asking what would happen if none of the LIV players played in major events.
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, or the year after? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO. – Phil Mickelson wrote on X.
FAFFO here stands out for “F*** around and find out“. Mickelson for some reason would go on to delete that reply later on. With the “framework agreement” between the PGA Tour and PIF yet to be finalized, the merger deal could provide some relief to LIV Golfers in the future and create a way for them to get into these major tournaments.
Several LIV Golfers to skip U.S. Open qualifiers
The number of LIV Golfers in major championships is going to decrease once again. This year’s Masters tournament only had 13 members of the breakaway tour. Despite some spots up for grabs through the qualifying round for U.S. Open, several LIV golfers including Talor Gooch have decided to skip this process.
Gooch, the 2023 LIV Golf individual champion, was denied a spot in the event last year. This year, instead of trying to fight his way back in, he decided not to participate and backed away.
🏆🇺🇸 World #624 Talor Gooch on if he plans to play in a U.S. Open qualifying event: “I’m not.”
Should the USGA give LIV Golf’s Talor Gooch a special exemption? pic.twitter.com/enhnD2SIwh
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 2, 2024
