Getty Image / Luke Walker / WME IMG
The LIV Golf Tour is teeing up in Tucson, Arizona this week at The Gallery Golf Club.
LIV Golf superstar and HyFlyers GC team captain Phil Mickelson is hoping to improve on his +1 (t27th) finish at the LIV Golf Invitational Mayakoba, the tour’s first event of the season.
Speaking with reporters this week ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Tucson, Phil Mickelson spoke candidly about the PGA Tour and he did so with civility we rarely here from competitors.
Lefty discussed how he’s happy with the ways LIV Golf has changed the game and called it a “good model” for the PGA Tour to follow.
Phil told Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post:
I think there will always be a need and a want for traditional golf. And there’s always an opportunity to innovate and to allow LIV to be additive and create something new and different. I also think the changes bring the best players about more often. I think that’s what fans want and what the sponsors want. They want to know what they are buying, and those are all things that LIV have provided for their sponsors and television and so forth.”
“I think it’s a good model to follow, and I’m glad that they are.”
Speaking about recent changes made by the PGA Tour including designated events with much larger purses, Phil added “I’m happy to see it, I’m happy to see it for the tour.”
Mickelson also talked about the team aspect of LIV Golf and how a team format of Match Play made LIV’s Tour Championship incredible:
Phil’s take on potentially making LIV’s season finale entirely match play is a great idea. Team match play is compelling and the first 2 stages in Miami last year were fun to watch. Mic’d up team player/caddy convos would be good too 👍@PhilMickelson
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) March 16, 2023
Seeing the Tour Championship/FedEx Cup Finals at East Lake in Atlanta held in a Match Play format on the PGA Tour would be electric.
Phil astutely points out, however, that Match Play golf is less fun earlier in the week.
But seeing the best golfers in the world (on the PGA Tour) going head to head for $25 million every year would be incredible. I’d fly to Atlanta to watch in person.