LIV Golf are in desperate need of momentum after a disastrous offseason so far.
The Saudi-backed league has made no major signings. Their negotiations with Si Woo Kim fell through, meaning the biggest names joining LIV ahead of 2026 are Laurie Canter and Victor Perez.
To further rub salt in their wounds, Brooks Koepka left LIV to return to the PGA Tour, making him the first star name to jump ship. This is not what LIV needed after a difficult 2025 in their ongoing battle with the tour.
But according to Phil Mickelson, reinforcements are on the way. In a recent LIV Golf press conference, he hinted at a new signing for his team, HyFlyers GC.
Phil Mickelson is excited about new LIV Golf signing
It was a difficult season for the Mickelson-led HyFlyers in 2025. They finished fifth in the LIV Golf team standings, with only one top-three finish all year.
But the six-time major winner said his team are expecting a much-needed injection of youth ahead of 2026. Speaking to reporters, he said, “We have a player that we’ll announce here shortly. I’m very excited.
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“We needed this energy. We needed this youthfulness. I’m 55; I needed to get a younger team. [Brendan Steele] is 42, [Cameron Tringale] is late 30s. We’re going to start evolving younger and getting a fresh energy. I’m very excited.”
There’s a host of exciting young talent emerging on the PGA Tour in 2026, so LIV could steal back some momentum by signing a player like Marco Penge or Neal Shipley to Mickelson’s team.
And the 55-year-old explained why LIV is a great place for these young players to learn their craft.
Phil Mickelson explains why LIV Golf is the perfect place for young players
As LIV struggled to recruit the big-name players on the PGA Tour this offseason, they should turn their attention to developing their own stars internally. And according to Mickelson, learning from veterans of the game, such as Jon Rahm and himself, is a huge edge for any player coming up in the game.
This is LIV’s advantage over the PGA Tour. Their young players have teammates to lean on, and it’s in the best interest of players like Mickelson to pass down his knowledge for the good of his team.
Mickelson explained why he thinks LIV is the perfect environment for young stars: “I think if you look at how quickly young players have developed, if you look at Caleb Surratt, who came right out of college after a couple years, or you look at David Puig or Josele Ballester, comes right out of college, and Tom McKibbin, and you look at these guys.
“Caleb flat-out said, I am exponentially further along after a year of being with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton than I would be if I was still in school. The development of these young guys that are being spoon-fed information by Sergio [Garica], by Jon Rahm, like some of the greats of the game, they’re picking up that we had to learn on our own.
“I didn’t win a major until I was 33. I started working with Dave Pelz, and three months later he showed me how to practice, what to practice, how I needed to work, and all of a sudden I got better exponentially, and now that information is being spoon-fed by a lot of captains.
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“The reason I’m saying this is it doesn’t matter my age. It doesn’t matter Jon Rahm’s age. He’s 20-something years younger than me, but he has so much knowledge that he’s acquired that he’s openly sharing with his teammates because we’re all invested in that.
“I’m going to try to help the guys on our team and younger players become their best selves and share the knowledge that I learned over the years from others, and try to help to develop them faster, to achieve their goals quicker. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing as their teammate or if I’m taking on just a captain’s role.
“But right now, I’m starting to play – I’m playing pretty good golf. I had a good year last year, the first half especially, and had opportunities to win, and it really gets me motivated to keep going to work harder.
“Now, it is harder for me. I’ve got to work a lot harder on my body to be able to swing the club the way I want to, but I enjoy the challenge and I will continue to work with young players just like Jon Rahm has helped those two players, Caleb and Tom, and just like Sergio has helped Josele, Luis and David develop quicker, I’ll do the same in any way that I can.”
At this stage of his career, Mickelson is taking on the role of mentor, and that can only be a good thing for the young player that is about to sign with HyFlyers GC.
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