Phil Mickelson has rarely been afraid to speak his mind when it comes to how he thinks the golfing landscape could be improved.
Of course, Phil Mickelson has been one of golf’s biggest superstars over the last three decades. He has won six major titles, while he remains competitive on LIV Golf at the age of 55.
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Mickelson also became the oldest major champion of all-time in 2021.
With that, he will have inevitably been a player that many of his peers looked to, to express some of the potential frustrations over how the PGA Tour has been run.
How Phil Mickelson wanted to see the PGA Tour restructured in 2009
Obviously, it appears that the PGA Tour is entering a new era. There is speculation Brian Rolapp could oversee the introduction of a schedule which includes just 22 events at some stage in the coming years.
And it seems that Mickelson would be one of those who welcomes the change.
Speaking to Golf Digest in 2009 about how he would change the PGA Tour, the left-hander backed the idea of a streamlined product that put greater emphasis on the top stars facing off a lot more often.
“For example, the tour should have 20 events where the top guys have to play. Whatever number you want to use. Say, the top 125. 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. Same with television, where the ratings are flat or falling off. Fans would love it, too, to have 20 events a year with the top guys mandated to play,” he said.
“Those 20 events would be the four majors, the Players Championship, the World Golf Championship events and 12 others. Problem is, 200 players don’t want that to happen. The top 100 don’t want to be told where and when to play, and the bottom 100 can’t afford to lose the leverage for those remaining 20-plus, or however many, events.”
The comments Phil Mickelson may regret about player input in how the PGA Tour operates
What is fascinating, in hindsight, is looking at Mickelson’s comments on how involved players should be in shaping how the PGA Tour looks.
Despite having his view on his preferred structure, Mickelson made it clear in the same interview that the commissioner should make decisions with no contributions from the golfers.
“I believe no one player should have input on the operations of the tour,” he said.
“No player. Why? Because you’re dealing with 200 individuals who are unable to take their personal bias out of the decision-making process. Whenever anything comes up, the first question guys ask is, ‘How does this affect me? If it’s good for me, I like it. If it’s not good for me, I don’t like it.’ So you have 200 individuals not thinking about what’s in the best interest of the tour. The commissioner should be concerned with the big picture and make decisions without any input from the players. That would make the tour the best-run organization possible, but that’s not the way it works now.”
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That feels significant because Mickelson reportedly told Alan Shipnuck in 2022 that he was holding talks with those working on setting up LIV Golf because it was an ‘opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates’ (via Golf.com).
In fairness, Mickelson has been vindicated in a lot of ways. The PGA Tour’s hand was forced with LIV Golf turning the professional game upside down.
Those who stayed on the PGA Tour are now playing for more money. And it does appear that there will soon be a schedule which contains fewer events.
Unfortunately, the manner in which Mickelson’s move to LIV Golf was handled seems to have damaged his legacy beyond repair in the eyes of many people.
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