Phil Mickelson sounded confident as ever that more PGA Tour and European tour players would jump to Saudi-funded LIV Golf next year, even as the league was denied in its bid to get world ranking points.
“Do I think that? No. I know that’s going to happen,” Mickelson said at Trump Doral near Miami, site of the season-ending team championship.
“When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it,” he said.
“Everybody here is happy and enjoying what we are doing and enjoying the team aspect of it and enjoying each other and the camaraderie and enjoying playing golf globally and all the benefits that come with playing this tour.” Mickelson was viewed as the chief recruiter even before LIV Golf began in June 2022.
LIV picked up several premier players for its inaugural season, such as Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and eventually Cameron Smith a month after he won the British Open. The rebel league this year added Brendan Steele, Danny Lee, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira and Thomas Pieters. LIV always expected to be playing in 2024 amid an agreement by its Saudi Arabian backers, the PGA Tour and the European tour for a commercial enterprise.
