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Phil Mickelson has done a lot of celebrating lately.
Mickelson, a six-time major champion, was the first big name to defect from the PGA Tour to Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.
So when the two leagues announced a stunning merger last week, it didn’t take long for Mickelson to light up a victory cigar.
Mickelson has been the most outspoken player about his detest for the PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan.
“…For a long, long time, my 30 years on the PGA TOUR, pretty much all the best players played on the PGA TOUR, at least for the last 20 years. That will never be the case again. I think going forward you have to pick a side. You have to pick what side do you think is going to be successful. And I firmly believe that I’m on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professional golf,” Mickelson said at a LIV event a year ago. “And I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA TOUR trending downwards and I love the side that I’m on.”
Those are some pretty serious words.
But Mickelson might not be entirely out of the woods despite the merger.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reports that Mickelson and LIV are being sued in federal court. The case come from an Argentine corporation regarding trademark infringement. Mickelson and Liv use the logo for its HyFlyers GC team.
“In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, attorneys for Cool Brands Supply wrote that the ‘defendants’ adoption and use of their knockoff logo nearly twenty years after Plaintiff commenced use and in the face of Plaintiff’s federal trademark registration is not just reckless and inexplicable — it is willful infringement and unfair competition,” Schlabach said.
The case likely won’t make it much further. Whether the judge refuses to hear it or its settled. It’s hard to imagine Mickelson or LIV face any real consequence even if they are guilty.
But hey, you can’t blame the company for trying.