Phil Mickelson has signed a deal with LIV Golf Investments and will play the first event of the Invitational series this week outside of London, ending a four-month golf break that has seen him embroiled in controversy.
Mickelson, 51, will begin playing on Thursday at the $ 25 million 54-hole event at Centurion Golf Club, his first tournament action since playing in the Saudi international tournament in early February.
“Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the best golfers of this generation. His contributions to the sport and his connection to fans around the world cannot be overstated and we are grateful to have him,” said the commissioner and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. “It strengthens an exciting course for London where we are proud to usher in a new era for golf.
Mickelson joins other big winners from the past such as Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Martin Kaymer among the 48-player field that will also have a team component.
The winner of the event receives $ 4 million.
But apparently Mickelson has so much more than that. Johnson apparently signed a deal worth more than $ 100 million over five years, and Mickelson can expect the same.
All this following an interview with Golf Digest in early February in which Mickelson cited the “hateful greed” of the PGA Tour for wanting to explore other options, some of which he said would benefit the Tour.
Mickelson, winner of six major championships, including last year’s PGA, where he became the game’s oldest big winner, Mickelson has seen his image tarnished while several sponsors abandoned him following those derogatory comments. about the PGA Tour and the Saudi regime it is supporting. the LIV Golf series.
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The Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, is the main sponsor of the series, which will have great prizes and guarantees for players, despite not having a television rights agreement. Mickelson is expected to sign for all eight events of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, five of which will be played in the United States.
This probably means that your days on the PGA Tour are over. Commissioner Jay Monahan has not reported any conflicting events for these tournaments and has threatened penalties or even a tour ban.
Mickelson’s history with the PGA Tour goes back more than 30 years. He won his first amateur tournament as a junior in Arizona in 1991. This earned him a PGA Tour membership, which he acquired when he became a professional before the U.S. Open. 1992.
But after opening the year playing the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express Championship and the Farmers Insurance Open – he lost the cut in the last two – Mickelson did not play after a 17th place finish in the Saudi tournament.
The three-time Masters winner skipped the tournament at Augusta National and did not attempt to defend his PGA Championship title either. No reason was given. In fact, Mickelson has not spoken publicly since he issued a lengthy apology on Feb. 22 in which he regretted some of the things he said and suggested he should work on some personal issues before returning.
Mickelson is expected to hold a press conference at the LIV Golf event before the tournament.
Full field
(48 players)
Oliver Bekker, South AfricaRichard Bland, England Itthipat Buranatanyarat, ThailandLaurie Canter, EnglandRatchanon Chantananuwat (amateur), ThailandHennie Du Plessis, South AfricaOliver Fisher, EnglandSergio Garcia, SpainTalor Gooch, South AfricaJing, Johnson , England, England AustraliaSadom Kaewkanjana, ThailandMartin Kaymer, GermanyPhachara Khongwatmai, ThailandSihwan Kim, EUAYosuke Kinoshita, JapanChase Koepka, USAJinichiro Kozuma, JapanPablo Larrazabal, SpainViraj Madappa, IndiaNorth Ireland, United StatesGraeme McDowJP ‘ America and Lovin O. South AfricaWade Ormsby, AustraliaAdrian Otaegui, SpainTurk Pettit, USAJames Piot (amateur), USA Poulter, EnglandDavid Puig (amateur), SpainJC Ritchie, South AfricaCharl Schwartzel, South Africa Travis Smyth, AustraliaIan Snyman, South- AfricaHudson Swafford, USAHideto Tanihara, Japan Lein, USA Scott Vincent, ZimbabweLee Westwood, EnglandBernd Wiesberger, AustriaBlake Windred, Australia Kevin Yuan, Australia