What many Augusta National members told Phil Mickelson ahead of the 2022 Masters just before he joined LIV Golf

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Just one Masters tournament since 1995 has not included Phil Mickelson in the field, with Lefty winning the green jacket on three occasions during his illustrious career.

Phil Mickelson has performed better at The Masters than any other major. Half of his major wins have come at Augusta National, while he has finished in the top five on 12 occasions during his career. So it was always going to take something unprecedented to stop Mickelson from teeing it up amongst the Georgia pines.

But in 2022, Mickelson did indeed take a break from the game that meant that he would miss The Masters for the first time in almost three decades. And it came off the back of speculation that he may be a contender to leave the PGA Tour and join a breakaway league.

Mickelson held talks with what would become LIV Golf, seemingly in an attempt to use the discussions as leverage against the PGA Tour. It would be a little while before his move to LIV would be confirmed, but the damage to his reputation at that time was immediate.

What Augusta National members told Phil Mickelson before the 2022 Masters

In fact, it seems that many associated with Augusta National were extremely concerned about the prospect of Mickelson playing at The Masters amid the furore surrounding him. And according to Alan Shipnuck’s book, Phil, several members reached out to Mickelson privately to suggest that it would not be a good idea for him to play at the first major of the year.

Mickelson subsequently missed defending his PGA Championship title that same year.

A saga which tainted his legacy

Mickelson is going to be remembered as one of the greatest the game has seen. Few have entertained the fans quite like the 54-year-old. Most golf fans can probably recall a number of shots from Mickelson which blew them away, particularly because of where he would often be hitting from.

But there is no doubt at all that his reputation took a permanent hit with the way his move to LIV was handled. In truth, no-one who made the jump covered themselves in glory with some weak answers as to how they could justify the decision they had made.

But the manner of Mickelson’s move would have made many fans look at him completely differently. And while he will still attract huge crowds whenever he competes in The Masters, it is not hard to see why some at Augusta felt that the 2022 event would be better without him.