Jun 13, 2022; Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; Phil Mickelson speaks in a press conference during a practice round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
“My career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”
Legendary golfer Phil Mickelson has had an interesting career, to say the least.
Before Tiger Woods came along, he was the darling of the golf world. Lefty has won six majors during his time but his legacy has been somewhat tainted in recent years by gambling rumors and his move to LIV Golf. Mickelson was one of the first golfers to leave the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf, and it would be impossible not to think of one without the other.
It sounds like Lefty might be starting to think about the next chapter in his career and life: Retirement.
“I’m 53 now,” Mickelson said, via Golf.com, “And my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.
“I think there’s a lot of things that are going to transpire over the next five or 10 years. I’m very bullish and excited about what that means for LIV Golf. But there’s also a lot of uncertainty. I think the things that I do know is I think the quality of the players will continue to get better each year. I think that the ability and the sites that we move throughout the world will continue to excite players and excite fans. We’ll be going to more countries outside of the United States that really are starving for world-class professional golf, and we’ll have a lot more receptions like we had at Adelaide [where LIV played last week].”
He listed Singapore as a great supporter of LIV Golf and how excited he is about the upcoming tour events.
“With Singapore and the tourism department getting involved and loving the event that transpired last year and wanting us to come back, that seems to be the case right now where a lot of countries are negotiating and trying to get a LIV event there. So I see the global game of golf growing at an extremely high level,” Phil said.
“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”
The continued growth of golf will all depend on whether the merger between the PGA and LIV Golf happens. Since the tentative announcement last year, there has been little to no movement toward that happening as the two tours continue to duke it out over players.
Regardless, Mickelson’s legacy is forever tied to LIV Golf and he will probably be more remembered for his contribution to their tour than the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, Lefty is now seen as a traitor or sellout by many and his legacy may be tarnished by everything that’s happened in the last few years.
