Phil Mickelson Once Found Himself in a ‘Predicament’ and What He Did Next Will Surprise You

Phil Mickelson has missed and withdrawn from many PGA Tour events for many reasons. As a matter of fact, the golfer had withdrawn from the U. S. Open once to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. Moreover, he had put a pause on his Tour schedules so that he could be with his wife when she was battling breast cancer. 

The golf world was more than open to all the reasons the golfer missed those golf tournaments. However, it was not the case when he withdrew from the 2014 BMW Championship even after advancing to the final rounds. After all, Mickelson did it because of an absurd reason! 

Why did Phil Mickelson withdraw from the BMW Championship midway?

“I’m in a bit of a predicament,” Mickelson said after he found out about the FedEx Cup playoffs schedule. According to him, the FedEx Cup is the only flagship event of the PGA Tour. And he wanted to be part of it to support his Tour. “The tough thing for me,” he added. “…is I don’t ever play a month in a row outside the West Coast where I’m living at home.”

“Without a chance to contend at the Tour Championship,” Mickelson announced through a statement after two rounds of the BMW Championship. “The most important thing for me now is to prepare for the Ryder Cup.” 

The Tournament was the third of four FedEx Cup playoff events, and Lefty needed a top-4 finish to be a part of the Tour Championship in Atlanta. However, he had a 14-shot deficit from the field leader Sergio Garcia after 36-holes. 

Read more: Has Phil Mickelson Ever Been Ranked World #1 in Golf?

Mickelson knew he had no shot at finishing inside the top 4, making him not attend the Tour Championship and thus withdraw from it. Notably, it was the first time he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup playoffs began in 2007. 

The golfer can now play as he once desired

Interestingly, he has now joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series, the rival league of the PGA Tour. And as per the 2022 schedule, the golfers only have to play eight events. The schedule includes seven individual 54-hole tournaments and a final team event. Notably, LIV Golf has announced it has added more events for the coming season. 

Phil Mickelson always had difficulty in playing events after events on the PGA Tour in consecutive weeks. But now that he joined the Saudi-backed golf league, he won’t have to worry about packed schedules, at least for this season. 

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