Phil Mickelson floated a hypothetical merger idea between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour on Monday morning, and the response was swift and decisive
Phil Mickelson talks with his caddie Jon Yarbrough(Image: Getty Images)
Phil Mickelson floated a speculative concept online this week, pitching it as a “random hypothetical” situation. But the golf community had soon voiced its opinion loudly on the icon’s latest suggestion for the future strategy of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
“Here’s a random Monday morning ‘hypothetical’ question,” Mickelson asked on X. “What if LIV went to a 35-event, full 120-person field, dual shotgun start (morning and afternoon), and the current LIV events were the ‘elevated’ events within the schedule,” His tweet came as LIV is considering format changes.
“Where would those additional players come from, and what would happen to the PGA Tour then?”. Bryson DeChambeau also discussed three necessary alterations for LIV Golf while talking at The Open Championship.
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Golf fans, sports writers, and players did not take long to show their disapproval of Mickelson’s plan for an overhaul of LIV. Mickelson’s blueprint would vastly increase both the tour size and calendar, creating a 120-golfer lineup with both morning and afternoon contentious shotgun starts.
Although Mickelson appeared captivated by his idea, the reactions were decisively negative from golf enthusiasts, purists, and even some fellow golfers.
One fan proposed a solution that veered away from division and towards unity. “What if the tours got back together and had 20 total events at great venues with great fields…everything else was trying to qualify for those 20 events that include majors,” the fan suggested.
Mickelson labeled this idea as “awesome.” However, it was one of the few exchanges where he wasn’t met with criticism. “Liv is unwatchable,” another fan retorted.
“I tried to give it a go yesterday. It went from 5 holes to play on the screen to 3 holes to play in a matter of seconds. It’s impossible to follow along.”
Phil Mickelson during LIV Andalucia
Ex-PGA Tour player turned broadcaster Colt Knost responded sarcastically, “That’s a lot of concerts!”
Several LIV events on the calendar have seen musical performances from the likes of Jason Derulo, Sublime, Riley Green, and more.
The majority of responses echoed this sentiment. Mickelson’s dual shotgun start proposal was almost unanimously deemed a logistical nightmare. Another user took a swipe at LIV as a whole, stating, “Phil, LIV is a failed experiment, but you all banked it. Take the personal W and move on.”
While LIV has attempted to brand itself as golf’s “rebellious disruptor,” its critics maintain that the product feels more like a novelty act than a serious contender to rival the prestige of the PGA Tour’s history.
One purist contributed, “Golf for hundreds of years has been played as a 72-hole singles competition,” adding that while there are some team events like the Ryder Cup which are acceptable sporadically, diehards would never embrace the 54-hole LIV golf concept.
Meanwhile, with PGA viewership on the rise compared to LIV’s lower numbers, a fan remarked, “No one wants to see shotgun starts, let alone dual shotgun starts with more players that no one knows.”
