Phil Mickelson said the Masters should serve as proof that the other majors need to create avenues for LIV members’ entry if the Official World Golf Ranking continues not to recognize the rival tour.
Mickelson, who tied for second at Augusta National and was one of three LIV members inside the top 5, said it’s in the “best interest of everybody” if LIV players continue to compete in the major championships.
“It’s going to all iron itself out because if you’re one of the majors, if you’re the Masters, you’re not looking at we should be keeping these guys out,” Mickelson said Wednesday in Singapore, where he’s preparing for the next LIV event that begins later this week.
“You are saying to yourself: We want to have the best field. We want to have the best players, and these guys added a lot to the tournament this year at the Masters. How do we get them included?”
Eighteen LIV players competed in the Masters earlier this month, with many of the top players such as Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Koepka exempt because of past major championship performance. (Smith was also ranked well inside the top 50.)
LIV’s application to receive world-ranking points is still under review, with a ruling not expected until later this year. That lag time will affect the future major participation of some of the members who are not otherwise eligible; the Open Championship (top 50) and U.S. Open (top 60), for instance, largely rely on the OWGR to fill out their fields (in addition to open qualifying).
The Masters has already unveiled its qualification criteria for 2024, announcing that the club will continue to focus on the year-end OWGR top 50 and the top 50 the week before the tournament is held.
“Our conclusion for the time being is that the Official World Golf Ranking, it’s a really good way to invite players,” chairman Fred Ridley said earlier this month. “It’s an objective criteria based on data-driven analytics, and it’s consistently applied. I think most would agree it’s a good system.”
Both Mickelson and Bubba Watson offered a possible solution for the other majors: offer spots based on the LIV points standings or tournament winners.
“They’re going to have to find a way to get the best LIV players in their field if they want to have the best field in golf and be really what a major championship is all about,” Mickelson said. “So they’re already looking at that.
“If the world golf rankings doesn’t find a way to be inclusive, then the majors will just find another way to include LIV because it’s no longer a credible way. So it will all iron itself out for the simple reason that it’s in the best interest of everybody, especially the tournaments, the majors, to have the best players.”
Added Watson: “Forget world-ranking points – just who is the best in your tour and your league and go from there. That’s how you do it. It’s simple math.”
Perhaps emboldened by his strong play at the Masters, Mickelson was more expansive in his pre-tournament remarks than he had been in recent months. LIV was also coming off its most successful week to date, last week in Australia, which featured enthusiastic, sell-out crowds in a country that has been starved for high-quality golf.
“Now a lot of other countries are wanting us to go there, so it was a big step in Adelaide in showcasing in what LIV Golf can be, and how much fun it can be and how much fun the people have with a different energy and vibe to professional golf, and it’s just going to take off from here,” Mickelson said.
“There’s no stopping LIV Golf now. It’s on a vertical trajectory, and it’s pretty exciting to be a part of it.”