LIV Golf’s future is finally becoming clear — that there is none. But when it first came around, its blueprint looked immaculate, one that provided everything to the players while also growing the game of golf around the world. Heck, it was a living example that proved every missed opportunity or failed attempt by the likes of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour wrong. No wonder Phil Mickelson, one of the veteran golfers who believed in growth, loved LIV’s idea.

“The reason why I’m so high on LIV Golf is it addresses the two areas that for the 30 years I’ve played the Tour, they have tried and struggled,” he said in 2022 after becoming HyFlyers GC captain.

Mickelson was talking about international and intergenerational growth that the Tour, playing for over 12 hours a day and mainly in the US, misses out on. In his efforts, he then recruited younger talents to LIV, fully embracing his role with the breakaway league. He wanted his legacy to be linked to the league. Little did he know how everything would turn out. But Brandel Chamblee believes he should have.

“The arrogance, Phil Mickelson had a tweet two years ago, where he said, ‘This is a chess move. It’s a long game. That was move six. You guys are not going to believe moves 27 through 39.’ You know, portending some ominous event in the future that was going to devastate the PGA Tour and devastate the DP World Tour,” Chamblee told Golf Channel. “And, well, as we know, it did not happen.”

Well, the tweet actually dates back to October 12, 2023. At the time, the six-time major champion was defending LIV Golf after the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) rejected the league’s application for ranking points. The decision dealt a blow to LIV players hoping to improve their chances of qualifying for major championships and drew criticism from fans and golf traditionalists. 

However, Mickelson dismissed the setback. He insisted that LIV’s lack of OWGR points was part of a bigger strategic plan.

Phil Mickelson had long criticized the PGA Tour over its control and monetization of players’ media rights, digital assets, and individual shots. So, when LIV Golf emerged, he saw an opportunity to challenge that system. He later admitted to helping the league recruit players and had attorneys assist in drafting its operating agreement. Mickelson viewed Saudi investment as a way of giving players the leverage they had long sought from the PGA Tour.

His involvement was not without controversy.

Journalist Alan Shipnuck published a report in which he quoted Mickelson privately describing the Saudis as “scary motherf***ers to get involved with.” Mickelson acknowledged their record on human rights, including the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the execution of people for being g–. 

Yet, he was still considering joining the project, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates” and arguing that “the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.”

Following the backlash, Mickelson apologized for his “reckless” choice of words and announced that he would step away from golf temporarily to focus on personal matters and self-reflection. 

Reportedly, LIV had indeed been murmuring about dominating over the traditional leagues.

There is proof about LIV Golf’s plans

In his very first LIV Golf presser in 2022, CEO Greg Norman was asked how the breakaway league’s mere existence could be detrimental to the future of the PGA Tour and the DPWT. His response was, well, this:

“Well, we’re not in this for a fight; there’s no question. I cannot enforce this enough to anybody. It’s not for the betterment of the administrations or anything else. It’s for the betterment of the players, the fans, the stakeholders, broadcasters, everybody across the board.”

It’s fair to say those remarks didn’t ever hold any ground, especially when Rory McIlroy and DPWT CEO Guy Kinnings have both revealed as much.

“They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race,” McIlroy said last month. “They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour.”

That grand vision, however, has not unfolded the way Mickelson or LIV might have hoped.

How Phil Mickelson gained from a drowning LIV Golf

BC Partners Credit has withdrawn its proposed $300 million investment in LIV Golf, dealing a major blow to the league’s plans to relaunch as LIV 2.0 in 2027. The deal reportedly fell apart because LIV failed to secure commitments from enough high-profile players.

According to ESPN, around 30 players had agreed to participate in the proposed new league, while another 10 were still considering the offer. In any case, with BC Partners out of the picture, LIV now faces the possibility of liquidating its remaining assets to pay off its debts.

Mickelson, however, might not be feeling the financial strain as much as some of his fellow players. 

The six-time major champion collected nearly $5 million from LIV in 2026 despite appearing in just one event. The six-time major champion collected nearly $5 million from LIV in 2026 despite appearing in just one event. Bankruptcy filings reveal that LIV made five payments totaling $6,000,254.56 to Mickelson before its September 8 Chapter 11 filing.

Despite collecting such amounts, Mickelson must be disappointed at some level because of the role he played in building it. Four of those payments, amounting to $4.77 million, were made in 2026. Despite collecting such amounts, Mickelson must be disappointed at some level because of the role he played in building it. 

But later in 2022, he signed a reported $200 million deal with LIV Golf and became captain of its HyFlyers GC team. And when he made his LIV debut, the PGA Tour suspended him along with other players who had joined the breakaway league. Those suspensions eventually became part of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour by LIV players, which was later dropped.

That said, Mickelson has yet to respond to Chamblee’s jibe. It remains to be seen whether the six-time major champion will break his silence and offer a response to the analyst’s criticism.