'I See The PGA Tour Trending Downwards' - Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson has hit out at the PGA Tour, saying that he sees it trending downwards and that he "firmly" believes that he is on the "winning side" in golf's civil war between LIV and the PGA Tour.

Mickelson has endured a controversy-filled 2022 following his incredible Major victory aged 50 at the 2021 PGA Championship. Prior to joining LIV, he called the Saudis "scary mother*******" to Alan Shipnuck, the author of his unauthorised biography, which he later claimed were 'off the record' comments. Those comments led to him taking time away from the game and missing both The Masters and his PGA Championship title defence.

"So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck," Mickelson said ahead of the LIV Golf Jeddah Invitational.

He reaffirmed his commitment to LIV Golf as well as hitting out at the PGA Tour, saying it "will never be the case again" that the PGA Tour will have "pretty much all the best players."

"Well it evolved a lot and will continue to evolve over time. There were a lot of opportunities that were left open for somebody to come in and do this," Lefty said on the emergence of LIV Golf.

"I think if you look back into the '70s what happened with cricket is probably the best analogy. I think that, as I said earlier, 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. 

"We play against a lot of the best players in the world on LIV and there are a lot of the best players in the world on the PGA Tour. And until some of the -- well until both sides sit down and have a conversation and work something out, both sides are going to continue to change and evolve.

"And I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards and I love the side that I'm on. 

"And I love how I feel. I love how I'm reinvigorated and excited to play golf and compete. I love the experience. I love the way they treat us. I love the way they involve us and listen to us in decisions. I mean it's so inclusive, it's so fluid that things, LIV Golf is leading. Whether it's shorts, whether it's other aspects of professional golf that are going to change and evolve, those positions will be led by LIV."