Mickelson warns that major championships need LIV players

The divide between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is growing. LIV players are having a harder time qualifying for major championships, and Phil Mickelson is warning that something needs to change.

In a since-deleted post on X, the six-time major champion said sponsors and television ratings will suffer if LIV players like himself are not included in the Masters and the U.S. Open.

The Official World Golf Ranking, the easiest path for players to qualify for top events, does not recognize LIV events.

“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed,” Mickelson wrote. “But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television.”

LIV’s roster, in addition to Mickelson, includes former major champions like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.

Many of LIV’s top players receive exemptions to play in championships after winning a major title. But others, like reigning LIV Player of the Year Talor Gooch, are shut out of the most prestigious competitions.

Mickelson later deleted his message about the current system, but ended it with a warning: “FAAFO,” an acronym for ’F—- around and find out.”