Just 12 months ago, Phil Mickelson found himself on top of the golfing world. Throughout his stellar career, Mickelson has announced himself as one of the sport’s greats, and this looked to have been topped off when becoming golf ’s oldest major champion in 2021.
The American rolled back the years to claim victory at the PGA Championship by two shots at Kiawah Island last year, in what was arguably the most impressive of his six major wins. Fast forward 12 months, and the second major of 2022 begins without its defending champion.
A year on from his triumph, Mickelson’s legacy could not be further away from where it was at Kiawah Island, with the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series proving to be the dagger through the heart of his reputation.
The breakaway circuit has sent shockwaves around the world of golf over the past year, and Mickelson has found himself at the centre of the saga. Initially it seemed as if the six-time major champion was the poster boy of the event, with his name often being linked to the series’ creation.
Whilst his open interest remained behind closed doors, his attack on the PGA Tour - the circuit in which he had spent nearly all of his professional career - was made very much public. His assault began in February of this year, when he accused the American-based tour of ‘obnoxious greed’ in regard to players’ media rights.
To many, Mickelson’s comments seemed somewhat rich, after the American had notched up £75million in winnings while competing on the tour. With his name heavily linked to the contentious Saudi-supported circuit, it seemed as if his attack on the tour served as the perfect get out of jail card to join the mega riches of the new breakaway series.
While these comments unsurprisingly caused a stir between Mickelson, the tour and the wider golf world, what came next left his legacy in tatters. In quotes released for the making of his new biography, the American’s anti-PGA Tour and pro-LIV Series campaign quickly took a sharp turn.
During an interview with Shipnuck, the six-time major winner discussed the controversies surrounding Saudi Arabia, describing the state as ‘scary mother f*****s’. His comments came in reference to the Saudi’s poor human rights record, and more closely the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Despite his concerns, Mickelson went on to imply that the horrific human rights history surrounding the Saudi’s in order to ‘gain leverage’ over the PGA Tour and its bosses. This seemed to be the beginning of the end for a man who was once regarded as one of the PGA Tour’s greatest players, as a grovelling apology followed.
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Within that apology came the announcement that he would be taking a break from competitive golf, which led him to miss the Masters for the first time in 28 years, but the real question was whether he would defend his PGA crown one month later. Well, initially he was set to after his return was confirmed - alongside his application to compete in the LIV Series inaugural event at Centurion Club next month.
His interest to compete in the opening Saudi-backed event came as no surprise following his past support, one aspect that shocked many though was the PGA Tour’s decision to block those who had applied for release to compete. It was initially thought the circuit would grant the green light for those who had applied, due to the event not taking place on American soil.
Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had other ideas though, and in conjunction with the DP World Tour decided to decline all applications to compete on the Saudi circuit in June. One week after this decision came another u-turn, as Mickelson went on to confirm that despite his initial entry he would not be defending his title at Southern Hills.
Whether this was swayed by Monhan’s decision to block his Saudi switch remains to be seen, but to withdraw from his title defence less than a week before it tees off shows the Mickelson-PGA Tour relationship remains in tatters. When - or if - the 51-year-old makes his return remains unknown, one thing that is for sure though is that the glittering reputation that was cemented at Kiawah Island 12 months ago is now long gone.
