Phil Mickelson chose his moment on the night Anthony Kim won in Adelaide. He did not focus on the birdies or the comeback. He spoke straight about Greg Norman.

“Greg Norman deserves a lot of credit for seeing this in AK when many did not,” Mickelson wrote on X on February 15. “He saw this in him and invested in his success, and it’s now paying off.”

One sentence. Fifty-one thousand views at the time of writing this. What made it significant was not the platform. It was who said it, about whom, and on which night.

This was not Mickelson’s first public show of support for Kim. He had already backed Kim during the LIV Promotions qualifier in January 2026, the 72-hole event Kim needed to survive to get his LIV card back. That context matters. February 15 was not a spontaneous reaction either; it was the second step in a clear pattern, and this time, Norman was named directly.

Norman approached Kim for a return in early 2024, when Kim was ranked No. 847 in the world and had only one top-25 finish in two LIV seasons. The conversation was straightforward. Kim said he still believed he could win. Norman told him, ‘I believe in you, too.’ That exchange, private and not seen by the golf establishment, is now the basis for Mickelson’s public credit.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

The timing of Mickelson’s statement is important. He was not in Adelaide. He had withdrawn from LIV Golf’s first two events of 2026. His post came from outside the ropes, which makes it hard to call it accidental. Mickelson’s position within LIV is complicated. His relationship with the league’s leadership has never been simple. And a public statement crediting Norman on the night of the league’s biggest win is not a neutral act.

Greg Norman’s LIV Golf exit and the voices that shaped it

Norman stepped down as LIV Golf CEO with his tenure ending August 31, 2025, though he confirmed he would remain involved at the board level. The farewell was not warm. Rory McIlroy called the exit “probably a good move.” Tiger Woods had said, months earlier, “I think Greg has to go, first of all.”

Jon Rahm, who shared the final-round lead in Adelaide before Kim overtook him, cited “too much bad blood between Greg and the governing bodies” as the core problem. Three of professional golf’s most prominent voices are pointing in the same direction.

Mickelson pointed the other way.

Norman’s decision to bring Kim back as a wildcard — despite two seasons with zero standings points and relegation after 2025 — now stands as the clearest example in LIV’s short history of player development outside the PGA Tour. Kim earned his card back at the Promotions event, joined the 4Aces after Patrick Reed’s departure, and arrived in Adelaide having played one practice round after a visa delay removed him from the league’s charter flight out of Saudi Arabia. Dustin Johnson‘s assessment at signing: “I think he’s only going to keep getting better.”

Kim entered the final round with a 0.3% win probability, per DataGolf. He shot a bogey-free 63, birdied five of his last seven holes, and won by three shots over Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. He collected a $4 million check and held his daughter, Bella, on the 18th green, with his wife, Emily, beside him.

In his post-round interview, Kim said plainly: “I know the mainstream media is not going to pick it up.”

That same night, Mickelson — one of the sport’s most recognized names, absent from the event — made sure at least one corner of that mainstream registered Norman’s name alongside what had just happened.

Norman has said he changed the game of golf. Whether the game will acknowledge that is another question.