Phil Mickelson has no problem expressing his opinion on any golf topic, but on Sunday he ended up taking something back regarding major championships.
Amid a T-22 at the LIV Golf Singapore event, Mickelson responded to a tweet about the lack of LIV golfers in major championships by saying those four events could be in trouble “next year when more big players will join” LIV. He ended his message with the acronym “FAAFO,” which stands for “Fu*k around and discover.”
The six-time major champion was responding to a tweet from @flushingitgolf manage by saying the new league’s “number one priority” should be getting its players into golf’s four biggest events. Currently, the main route is through the Official World Golf Ranking, which still does not recognize 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 play? Would they be missed? What will happen next year, when other big players join us? Or the following year? At some point they will care and have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO.
Mickelson is one of many LIV actors to express dissatisfaction with the current system. Talor Gooch, the reigning LIV Player of the Year, has been particularly vocal as he doesn’t qualify for any 2024 majors despite winning three LIV events in 2023. And Gooch recently made it clear that he would do it. I will not try to qualify for the US Open.
Mickelson, 53, received a five-year exemption to all majors for winning the 2021 PGA Championship. As a former PGA, Masters and Open Championship champion, he has an exemption to life for these three major tournaments (the Open Championship has an age limit of 60).
After facing OWGR for a few years, LIV gave up his offer for world ranking points in March.
The next major tournament, the PGA Championship, will take place later this month in Valhalla. LIV golfer Brooks Koepka is the defending champion.
