‘An Egomaniac’: Phil Mickelson Gets Shamed By Fans Over His ‘FAAFO’ Declaration

LIV Golf seems to be in big trouble. The breakaway league’s persistence in sticking to its ways of promotion and relegation-less, 54-hole mix of individual and team events is against the OWGR’s guidelines. Considering the OWGR’s stringent stance in rejecting the Greg Norman-led league’s calls for inclusion, major championships are readily slipping away from the fingers of his pack of golf pros.

This has paved the way for the absence of many of its famous faces from the upcoming PGA Championship. Flushing It on X posted an ironic post where it was highlighted that despite the humongous purse, not even one golfer who compared in Singapore could qualify for the season’s second major. On the contrary, the Volvo China Open, a DPWT event with almost a 10-time smaller purse, had several players such as Adrian Otaegui qualify for the upcoming showdown at Valhalla.

“LIV can have the grandest of plans for their future, but getting players access to major championships should be their number one priority,” wrote Flushing It. However, famous LIV Golf flagbearer Phil Mickelson did not seem to agree and wrote “FAAFO.” For him, while the absence of LIV players might not be felt right now, it will be later on. Why? Mickelson had clear reasons.

With the increasing number of PGA Tour and DPWT pros defecting to the circuit including the likes of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Adrian Meronk, it will only be a matter of time before other pros join the Saudi-funded league. Additionally, the major championships have to become answerable to sponsors and television for a lot of things if the field continues to become less powerful.

Lefty posed a vital question and asked whether LIV golfers would be missed at the major championships at all if they didn’t play at all. Golf lovers seemed to blatantly disagree with Mickelson and had a plain answer to this question.

While many opined that it was the undoing of the pro and his circuit’s own decisions, others were quick to circle back the blame to the LIV golfers cast out of the system. So what did fans exactly have to say?

Fans react to Phil Mickelson’s counter to LIV Golf’s emergency

One fan wrote, “You have two tours with different models. One has players building a legacy and the other has players building a bank account. Each player has made their own decision which objective is more important to them. They need to stop trying to have both.” Pointing out the long-standing debate on the re-entry of LIV Golf defectors into the system, this fan’s comment screamed volume. According to them, the golfers who have chosen to stay out of the majors out of their love for the big bucks should stop whining because it was their own decision. The fan suggested that it was time the LIV Golf players stopped trying to make up for the losses they signed up for.

Another Twitter user pointed out, “lol. You’re an egomaniac,” giving a strong name to Phil Mickelson’s claims. According to them, the idea that LIV golfers will eventually bring the major championships on their knees did not sit right with this fan and they promptly laughed it off.

Yet another fan of golf remarked, “So IT IS about the money and not growing the game. Legacy etc…thanks for clarifying,” shunning down the Saudi-backed league’s strong claims of growing the game. LIV’s motto of making golf louder, and growing it seemed to have taken a back seat after Mickelson’s remarks, and this fan did not shy from pointing it out. They agreed that maybe all of this was for money and not the globalization of the game of golf.

Another user clarified, “LIV players chose hit and giggle tour. If they want play competitive golf, they know where to play.” This critique brought to the surface the entertainment-centered approach of the so-called “circus tour.” The fan even remarked that LIV Golf players made a choice, and if they truly wanted to make a re-entry they could work their way back.

Yet another fan said, “Your all fearless leader, and Mickelson, knew 72 holes was a requirement to get WR points. Yet they did their own thing. Blame them,” calling out Norman and Mickelson’s insistence on sticking to the 54-hole format as opposed to the widely accepted 72-hole format ratified by the OWGR. LIV Golf has finally withdrawn their plea to get world ranking points for their events, and the fans centered their dismissal of Mickelson’s claim on this ground.

What do you think of Mickelson’s remarks? Will you miss seeing LIV players in major championships if their exemptions run out?