What Jordan Spieth once said about Phil Mickelson when he joined LIV Golf and was unable to play at the PGA Championship

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The first episode of Netflix’s Full Swing documented Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas’ friendship in the lead-up to the 2022 PGA Championship.

Thomas, of course, claimed his second PGA Championship at Southern Hills after Mito Pereira made a double-bogey on the 72nd hole.

For Netflix and Full Swing, Thomas’ victory was the ideal outcome, having earlier dramatised his recent struggles and Spieth’s win at the 2022 RBC Heritage. Thomas will feature in the new series which is released on February 25.

Another colossal story emerged in the build-up to the PGA at Southern Hills. LIV Golf’s first event at Centurion was scheduled to take place just weeks after the year’s second major.

Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson were just a few of the names who teed it up in St Albans. Bryson DeChambeau signed ahead of the Portland event, and it was a similar story for Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.

What Jordan Spieth said about Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship absence

Ahead of the PGA Championship, much of the talk centred around Mickelson. The soon-to-be LIV Golf star was the defending champion, and many expected the lefty to make the trip to Tulsa. However, Mickelson withdrew from his title defence on May 13.

Three-time major winner Spieth was asked about Mickelson’s absence and the emergence of LIV during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I think it’s unfortunate Phil is not here. His accomplishment last year was insane, one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of the game. So I just think it’s really unfortunate that, as the defending champion, he’s not here. Hopefully, things can just get back to normal, and everybody can kind of get back to the way things were,” Spieth said.

On LIV talk, the three-time major winner added: “The Saudi league or the LIV league, everybody can do what they want to do. No players are standing in any players’ way. If they want to go, go. I love where I’m at. I’ve been saying that for a long time. Weeks like last week are what I enjoy the most, and I’m excited to come here this week and just keep my head down, and none of those distractions weigh on me whatsoever.”

Why Phil Mickelson missed the 2022 PGA Championship

Mickelson’s withdrawal from the PGA Championship came after the six-time major winner had stepped away from professional golf following comments he made about Saudi Arabia and LIV’s formation.

Alan Shipnuck, Mickelson’s biographer, attributed him to specific disparaging quotes on Saudi Arabia. Mickelson would then perform a sudden U-turn, sign for LIV, and then offer an apology to his new employers despite denying that he spoke to Shipnuck.

In the lead-up to the 2022 PGA Championship, Mickelson wanted to extend his leave of absence from professional golf, which actually dated back to February of the same year. The lefty claimed he was taking time away from golf to “work on the man I want to be.” The 2021 PGA Championship also missed the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National.