REPORT: Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler to Commit to LIV Tour

According to Rich Lerner, a commitment from Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson to the LIV is “imminent.”

There is no question that the two names bring clout, another armful of PGA Tour wins and Phil’s haul of six majors to add to the LIV portfolio.

Rickie and Phil to LIV imminent. How will The PGA Tour respond? The USGA? Chatter consuming the sport.

— Rich Lerner (@RichLernerGC) June 6, 2022

Phil has been AWOL for months now, and I think it was fair to say he had been assumed to be jumping ship to the LIV event in London. It is a sad state of affairs that he would sooner play an exhibition tournament in London than defend his USPGA title in Oklahoma.

Fowler gave an ambiguous answer when he was asked about the Saudi-backed rival tour, stating that he wasn’t sure what he would do, but that the PGA Tour could definitely be better. Both players have a large fan base and will attract a few extra viewers this weekend in London. Fowler had said that the PGA Tour was still the best place to play golf, yet maybe he needs a fresh start for his game after no wins since February 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kevin Na resigning from the PGA Tour appeared to take many by surprise, including LIV frontman Greg Norman. He had said it wasn’t necessary for players to resign from the Tour if they wished to join the LIV events, but the move did make it clear to other pros that to avoid all issues, the best way forward is to pick one Tour or the other.

It is hard to ignore the divisive nature of the decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Norman will continue to plug the ‘independent contractors’ line and I expect a few more big names (and a handful of smaller names) to join the LIV events in the weeks to come.

Notably, Brooks Koepka appears to be a perfect fit for such a tour, he doesn’t care too much about anything, he’s in it for the big tournaments and the money. And his brother Chase is already committed to the field. Now all we can do is await the USGA response to the news!

Cover Image Via The Honda Classic