In an interview with Golf Digest before the 2009 US Open at Bethpage Black, Mickelson sat down for an interview covering a wide range of topics. Among them were questions about his and Tiger’s influence on the game, to which the 6-time Major Championship winner cried foul.
“I think the tour talks to Tiger. That’s a critical element, and he should be consulted,” he said, before adding, “But if people assume that, before anything goes down, the tour talks to me about my opinion, that’s not correct.” said Phil
"I believe no one player should have input on the operations of the tour. Why? Because you’re dealing with 200 individuals who are unable to take their personal bias out of the decision-making process,” Phil continued.
Mickelson came up with an answer well beyond its time. “The tour should have 20 events where the top guys have to play. Whatever number you want to use,” he declared.
“As it is now, sponsors are upset because they don’t know who will be in the field, and therefore they don’t know what they’re buying…. Those 20 events would be the four majors, the Players Championship, the World Golf Championship events and 12 others,” Phil further stated his plan.
A few of these modifications include a mandatory set of events to be played by the top-ranked golfers, which includes the Players Championship, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
These tournaments, alongside the four Major Championships and the season-ending FedEx Cup, will witness the best golfers on the Tour teeing up alongside each other. The fact that Mickelson predicted this transformation 13 years ago is living proof of the genius of that is the LIV golfer.