Golf truce set to collapse as Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter warn of further LIV defections
Phil Mickelson has warned the PGA Tour that there will “undoubtedly” be another exodus of the circuit’s players to the LIV Golf League, regardless of the ongoing merger negotiations with the Public Investment Fund (PIF). And Ian Poulter believes that the same will apply to the DP World Tour, as well.
So much for the truce. Uneasy does not begin to describe it. In the “framework agreement” that took everyone by surprise when announced in June, there was a clause agreed between PIF – LIV’s Saudi bankrollers – and the two Tours that, while the deal-making was afoot, LIV would not try to entice any more superstars, and would not even attempt to “solicit” their signatures.
This stipulation, however, was quietly dropped by the respective parties a month later when the US Department of Justice expressed its concerns on anti-competition grounds. That means LIV is essentially free to resume its entreaties and so add to the roster which includes the likes of Cam Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Mickelson, himself.
And the latter is convinced that the breakaway league will do exactly this after the 2023 season concludes here at the $50 million team finale at Trump Doral on Sunday.
“LIV needs to keep evolving,” Mickelson said. “But we have only been around a year and a half and look at the quality of players that we have already. And that’s going to continue to improve next year and it’s going to continue to improve the following year.”
Does he therefore think that more players will jump ship. “Do I think that?” he replied to Telegraph Sport. “No. I KNOW that’s going to happen. When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it. Everybody here is happy and enjoying what we are doing and enjoying the team aspect of it and the camaraderie and all the benefits that come with playing this tour.
“The reality is, I’ve been fielding calls, as we all have, from players who are free agents to PGA Tour players who want to come over. So the question is how many spots are available? There’s a lot more players that want to come than there are spots.”
But what about the discussions under way to unify the professional male game? “I think those merger talks allow and kind of opens the door for that,” Mickelson responded.
The six-time major winner’s last claim will, at the very least, be news to the DP World Tour. LIV’s qualifying event in Abu Dhabi in December – that will feature three golfers winning berths on to the 2024 roster – and that will be the first real test of the supposed new harmony, as it is being staged the same week as the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.
That means any Tour member will need a release from Wentworth HQ and, with no formal agreement with PIF, and considering all the legal battles over the past 18 months, it is hardly likely that Keith Pelley will acquiesce. The Tour chief executive handed out £100,000 fines and one-tournament bans to all those players who appeared without permission in the LIV Series event in June 2022, and even if the punishment is not as severe on this occasion, and it could be harsher still, there would almost definitely be recrimination.
Certainly, Poulter does not expect the green light to be shown, but he still thinks there will be “a great deal of interest”. “I am not going to give any names, but we’ve been contacted about players wanting to join,” Poulter told Telegraph Sport here on Wednesday.
“And that’s no surprise. Think about it, they’ll probably get fined, but if a player takes that chance, pays say $50,000 or whatever, then he makes it into the top three then he will earn minimum $1.75 million in 14 events in 2024. That’s minimum. Even if they shoot level 80s every week.
“It’s $20 million purses and then the prizes from the team events on top and you’re playing against the likes of Brooks, DJ, Cam, Talor [Gooch] every week? If you’re on the DP World Tour then you’d be mad not to back yourself and have a go. It’s a different level.”
The pervading wisdom is that it could remain a different entity, as well. It is widely accepted that not only will the negotiations be concluded in time for the December 31 deadline and then be extended, but also that LIV’s 2024 schedule will go ahead.
With billionaire US investors reportedly ready to back the PGA Tour, the possibility of an ultimate breakdown in the mooted marriage with the Saudis looms ever larger. In that case, Mickelson and Poulter are clearly of the mind that LIV would be just getting started.
