Rory McIlroy has expressed his disappointment at the absence of Phil Mickelson from this week’s PGA Championship.
Mickelson was named in the field for the second Major of the year, at Southern Hills, as recently as last week, but has since withdrawn. That has fuelled speculation he might be appear in the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which begins at London’s Centurion Club on 9 June, and for McIlroy, the whole saga is regrettable. He said: “This should be a celebration, right? He won a Major championship at 50 years old. It was possibly his last big, big moment in the game of golf.”
Mickelson’s achievement last year meant he became the oldest Major winner in history. While he has been on a hiatus from professional golf following a backlash to comments he made earlier in the year regarding the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed series, he had been expected to make his comeback this week, and as far as McIlroy’s concerned, that should still be the case. He said: “I think he should be here this week and celebrating what a monumental achievement he achieved last year. It's unfortunate. It's sad. Yeah, I don't know what else I can say.”
The six-time Major winner is one of several big names missing from the PGA Championship, including Paul Casey, who has withdrawn because of injury. Nevertheless, there is still a predictably strong field, including Tiger Woods, who will make his second appearance after injury following his encouraging performance at The Masters last month.
McIlroy, who stands two Major wins behind Mickelson with four, goes into the tournament having finished runner-up at Augusta National. With that performance still fresh in the memory, the Northern Irishman will be hopeful of claiming his first third PGA Championship and first Major since 2014.
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