Phil Mickelson’s Playing Future Uncertain as LIV Golf Clarifies Relegation Rules
Team captains had been safe from losing playing privileges but LIV Golf’s rule clarification on the eve of the final individual tournament has Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter’s playing futures at stake.
Phil Mickelson’s status as a LIV Golf captain no longer makes him exempt from relegation.
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Some two-plus years after making the disruptive and controversial move to a rival league that has seen the men’s professional golf game divided, could Phil Mickelson be playing his last events as part of the LIV Golf League?
It’s unlikely, but possible.
And the fact that LIV Golf officials confirm it could happen is a twist in the ongoing saga as the league plays its last individual event of 2024 this week at LIV Golf Chicago.
In documentation released this week at Bolingbrook Country Club, LIV Golf officials noted that several players are in danger of being “relegated”—a fate that includes anyone who does not finish among the top 48 in a seasonlong points race. Mickelson is 44th and Bubba Watson is 52nd, thus outside the safe area.
Those who are relegated have little recourse other than to try and earn their way back to LIV Golf through the International Series Order of Merit or via a Promotions event later this year—although there is a catch that allows for a “business case” to be made for any relegated player.
Team captains had previously been exempt from relegation and it was believed to be the case for this year as well. Not so, says LIV, meaning Mickelson, captain of the HyFlyers, along with other captains Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, are mathematically in danger of losing their playing position with LIV Golf in 2025.
According to LIV Golf, players ranked 49th or below following this week’s event at Bolingbrook Country Club will be relegated out of the league
There are currently seven players in the so-called drop zone: Scott Vincent, Branden Grace—who won the second-ever LIV Golf event in 2022—Watson, Kalle Samooja, Kieran Vincent and wildcard players Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim.
According to LIV Golf, Swafford and Kim are not subject for relegation and could be re-signed as free agents. The other five players would, in theory, be dropped.
The seven players in what is called the “open zone” who are vulnerable are Stenson, Mito Pereira, Mickelson, Jinichiro Kozuma, Poulter, Harold Varner III and Pat Perez, who is 48th in the points with 7.76 points—Vincent is 49th with 5.9 points.
Players only earn points by finishing among the top 24. Mickelson is 44th and would need a lot to go wrong to fall out of the top 48.
Seeing as it is unlikely he’d play in International Series events or attend the Promotions event as a 54-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer, Mickelson—or any of the captains—could be re-signed by their team through what is being called a “business case” that would have to be approved by the team’s board.
That would almost certainly occur in Mickelson’s case, but it what is unclear is if any of the captains who fall into the relegation category would possibly be denying entry to someone who comes through the Promotions event.
LIV Golf gives a spot to the leader of the International Series Order of Merit—the 10-tournament series of events that is part of the Asian Tour. Former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree is playing on Mickelson’s HyFlyers team this year through that category.
Last year, three players made it through a Promotions event in the Middle East, although the details of that event have yet to be announced for 2024.
Mickelson, who won the 2021 PGA Championship for his sixth major title and was tied for second at the 2023 Masters, has had limited success in LIV Golf events. He’s posted just three top-10 finishes. This year, he missed the cut in two of the four major championships.
Recently Mickelson acknowledged that his play has not been to the standard he wants. But as a LIV captain, he has 25% equity in his team and said he expected to remain involved even when not playing.
“Well, my involvement with the HyFlyers is going to be long-term and probably through the rest of my life,” Mickelson said in July. ”I’m an equity shareholder and I’ll have the ability to be intricately involved in the growing out of the team throughout the course of the next many decades. But as far as my career, I’m realistic with where I’m at. I’m 54 and I’m putting in the work.
“I see glimpses and my teammates see glimpses of me being where I expect to be able to compete at this level, but I’m also realistic with myself, and if I’m not able to I’ll step aside and let somebody come on in and take the HyFlyers to new levels.
“I’m in every major on the regular tour next year, and I’ll be in three of the four majors for the next six, seven years. I would love to compete and give myself a chance to win in those, and I also want to build this out and create a culture that is sustainable and that people strive to be a part of.”
As a past winner, Mickelson is exempt for life at the Masters and the PGA Championship and through age 60 at the British Open. He’s also exempt into next year’s U.S. Open via his 2021 PGA win.
Watson, who won the Masters in 2012 and 2014, is the only captain who is in the relegation zone now. He trails Perez for the last spot by more than four points which he needs a minimum finish of 15th this week in order to move into the top 48.
Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, “DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods” and “Tiger and Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry.” He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles (Chick) Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.
