Well, it has finally happened. After months of speculation, LIV Golf announced on Monday that six-time major champion Phil Mickelson will join the breakaway league for its inaugural event in London later this week.
Mickelson, 51, has not competed in any events since January and his name was not originally listed in the field for the LIV event. After being one of the main golfers to support the league, he is finally getting to participate.
“Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the greatest golfers of this generation,” LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said, via CBS Sports. “His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated. He strengthens an exciting field for London where we’re proud to launch a new era for golf.”
Mickelson came under fire earlier this year for comments he made about LIV Golf, which is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. A major reason the league hasn’t persuaded more PGA golfers to join it is because of Saudi Arabia’s alleged human rights violations and the exorbitant amount of money it plans to throw at golfers who join.
“They killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights,” Mickelson said back in November, via ESPN. “They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Mickelson has not competed in any PGA events since the comments became public and he withdrew from the PGA Championship a week prior to the event despite qualifying to defend his title.
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