Phil Mickelson announced that he won’t be playing in the PGA Championship this week, and one golf analyst believes his absence could stretch much longer than one event.
Mickelson announced that he would skip this week’s major, which comes amid an ongoing health struggle for his family. The golf legend’s decision to bolt the PGA for the fledgling LIV could prevent him from coming back at any point, former ESPN host Trey Wingo warned.
Phil Mickelson Could Be Done with the PGA Tour
Wingo discussed Mickelson’s absence from the PGA Tour, suggesting that the relationship is too fractured to repair.
“I can promise you one person that you’ll never see in any way in an official capacity with the PGA Tour is Phil Mickelson,” Wingo said in an interview with Awful Announcing. “That bridge has been burned, detonated, destroyed, nuked, lasered to death. There is no building that bridge back.”
There have been reports that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls the LIV, could be pulling funds as the golf tour failed to gain traction. While there is speculation that some top stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm could have a path back to the PGA Tour, Wingo believes there is no door open for Mickelson.
Others have joined Wingo in suggesting that Mickelson won’t be able to repair his relationship with the PGA Tour. Golfer Horschel said he believes Mickelson’s remarks about the PGA Tour and the acrimonious split at the onset of the LIV would weigh too heavily on the tour.
“I don’t see a road for Phil Mickelson back to the PGA Tour, even though he’s a lifetime member and he’s done a lot,” Billy Horschel remarked on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, per HITC.com. “I think there is a lot of stuff that he said he did and certain things behind the scenes before LIV came about that mean it’s just not going to work out for him.”
Horschel added that the feelings could be mutual.
“And I don’t think he wants to come back to the PGA Tour or maybe even the Champions Tour,” the golfer said.
Phil Mickelson Out of PGA Championship
Mickelson had already announced that he would not be playing in the PGA Championship, saying he hoped to play in more events in the future.
“I wish I could. I can’t unfortunately,” Mickelson told Flushing It Golf on May 5. “I’m hoping to play the rest of the year after that but I honestly don’t know.”
In early February, Mickelson had announced that he would be taking a break from the LIV for an unspecified health matter.
“I will not be able to participate in the first two LIV Events as Amy and I need to be present for a family health matter,” Mickelson wrote in a statement on Instagram. “I can’t wait to compete again and look forward to rejoining my teammates as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, Ollie Schniederjans will step in for me in Riyadh as I root on HyFlyers GC from afar.”
Phil Mickelson Faces Dire Prediction After PGA Championship News