LIV Golf is amid a major shake-up. It seems they’ve finally taken Tiger Woods’s advice to heart. The 15X major winner once said, “Greg needs to go!” On January 13th, Scott O’Neil, a seasoned executive in sports and entertainment, took over as the new CEO. But if we look back, love Norman or hate him, he has left his mark on LIV. Under his leadership, LIV Golf managed to lure some of the biggest names in golf. One of them is Phil Mickelson.

It would not be wrong to say that Mickelson has been a driving force behind LIV Golf. Lefty was amongst the first ones to join LIV Golf in 2022 as he wanted to shake things up, to open up the unturned pages of the PGA Tour. In 2023 he made a bold statement through X saying that, before he joined LIV Golf, he claimed $1 billion for the PGA Tour from 8 big events, but his efforts were rejected. Interestingly, Jerry Foltz, who describes himself as a former mediocre pro, was recently seen in a podcast interview at Kickin It KunKul, and claimed that Mickelson “was absolutely dead spot on, and he still is.”

Foltz mentioned all of the things that Mickelson had said about the Tour are just what young Tour pros are now saying. The 6x major winner has quite a history and has been bashed by the fans and media for his gambling habits and his trash-talking, nobody could say, “Phil was wrong!”

According to Will Kunkel from Fox TV, the brand that has been looking to collaborate with LIV Golf since its inception, Mickelson’s journey closely resembles that of Curt Flood in the baseball world. Flood faced immense challenges but played a pivotal role in ushering in the era of free agency by suing the league. They hope Mickelson, with his groundbreaking pursuits, doesn’t go unrecognized before it’s too late. Kunkel expressed, “I really hope he (Phil Mickelson) gets his flowers while he is alive.”

Time and again, young stars like Bryson DeChambeau, and Brendan Steele have praised Phil Mickelson for his contributions to golf. DeChambeau claimed that Lefty is a true entertainer, and Steele said that his 2024 Adelaide win would not have been possible without him. Even the Tour pro, Akshay Bhatia called Mickelson his big brother.

As Foltz put it, “Call him a hero.” He continued, “Some will view them that way,” referring to how fans and media view the lefty as a villain. But he really hopes for a change of perception inside the golf world. As of Mickelson, his support for LIV is unmatched.

When Phil Mickelson spoke out against the PGA Tour’s betrayal

Last year, Mickelson expressed his grievances with the PGA Tour, saying, “We didn’t have an opportunity for elevated events [in the PGA]. We didn’t have an opportunity for equity. We didn’t have an opportunity to do our own social media. That was all controlled and shot down.” LIV is the opposite. “Every event is an elevated event,” Mickelson said. “We have equity, and we have the ability to do these social media posts and try to transcend the game of golf to different generations. All of these things were not possible before LIV came along.”

During a press conference at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in 2022, a journalist asked him about the significant changes in golf resulting from the rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. Mickelson reflected on his experiences with the PGA Tour and then addressed the current situation, highlighting the differences between the two leagues. He stated, “I firmly believe that I’m on the winning side of how things are going to evolve,” implying that he believes the PGA Tour will struggle against LIV Golf.

As an ardent supporter of LIV Golf for the past three years, Mickelson faced considerable backlash from fans for his remarks. So, where do you stand in all of this? Is Mickelson a misunderstood hero or a controversial figure?