When Phil Mickelson jumped ship, he completely flipped his tune about the PGA Tour. The LIV Golf pro has criticized the Tour in the past as well, but his hate for it only became evident after he joined the Saudi-based league. Since then, Mickelson has been a strong promoter of LIV Golf and the biggest critic of the PGA Tour and Jay Monahan. He has marketed the PIF-funded promotion while consistently bashing the place that made him a legend. And he didn’t miss the opportunity to bring something negative about the Tour to light when he had the opportunity recently.

So, the PGA Tour took a stern step at warning the golf content creators against participating in LIV Golf’s The Duels. As Flushing It revealed in their tweet, “The PGA Tour reached out to creators involved with LIV Golf’s “The Duels” and threatened them with potential future suspensions if they participated in the unsanctioned event, inline with the rules for non-members who play full LIV Golf League tournaments. The creators pushed back however and now the threats of sanctions have been dropped.” As the tweet reads, the threats were dropped. However, Mickelson revealed that the issue didn’t end there.

The golf legend confirmed the reports, tweeting, “You were absolutely correct. An email was sent threatening to ban all creators if they participated. They rescinded that threat to all creators EXCEPT Wes Bryan. They still banned him for a year.” The 45x PGA Tour winner exposed Jay Monahan & Co. with his post, making sure they face the backlash for their actions. However, Mickelson now seems to have changed his tune about the PGA Tour in a recent interview.

The HyFlyers GC captain joined Fox Sports in an episode of Fox & Friends. During the interview, he said, “We are kind of about growing the game globally and the PGA Tour has always been about growing the game nationally.” He believes that even though LIV Golf faces a lot of criticism in the USA, it leaves a bigger impact on the rest of the world that follows golf.

However, Mickelson admitted that “There’s always a need for traditional golf, traditional competition, and historical events.” The golf legend seems to be suggesting that there will always be a need for the kind of product the PGA Tour presents. “But we are not appealing to younger crowd historically, until now. LIV is appealing to a younger crowd and making golf cool again and enjoyable to watch. When you come out to watch, you have a much more relaxed feel and people are enjoying that vibe. So there is a need and demand for what LIV Golf provides.” Mickelson believes that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf appeal to two different demographics, and both of them are relevant to move the sport ahead.

This is quite interesting considering how vocal Phil Mickelson has been when speaking against the PGA Tour and Jay Monahan. But has LIV Golf really had a larger global impact than the PGA Tour over the past few years? Let’s see what they have been cultivating since their inception.

Phil Mickelson & LIV Golf’s global reach

Unlike the PGA Tour, which has limited itself to golf in the USA and a few events in Europe, LIV Golf has been reaching out to global destinations to grow the sport. Golf has definitely reached a larger audience thanks to their efforts. As the LIV Golf events are played across the world, fans from various countries like Hong Kong, Mexico, Korea, Singapore, and Riyadh have been exposed to global talents who have won majors in the past.

The likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, and others playing in these countries have increased the popularity of golf. During the interview, Mickelson himself stated that LIV Golf’s goal is to reach a larger audience worldwide. Moreover, the Saudi League’s International Series has also opened doors for local talents to get bigger opportunities and play with the best golfers in the world. As much criticism as they have faced, LIV Golf has played a huge part in growing the landscape of golf. If the merger is completed, then these talents will also find a gateway to the PGA Tour as the sport gets more diverse and popular around the world.

What are your views about LIV Golf’s contribution to golf? Share your views in the comments section.