‘Possibility For the Season-Ending Event’: Phil Mickelson Gives New Lease of Life for a Dying Format on the PGA Tour

Next weekend’s World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match play will be the last time the event will be included on the PGA Tour calendar. The grade of WGC events has slowly declined, and the challenges based on a Match play format have been troublesome. But with the tournament absent from the next season, what is the view of Phil Mickelson on the format?

Phil Mickelson expresses the advantages of the Match play format

The six-time major championship winner may no longer be contracted with the PGA Tour, but he keeps an open ear for the news surrounding the tour. Earlier this month, Jordan Uppleger, the tournament director of the WGC-Dell Match Play, made a statement regarding the discontinuation of the event from next season onwards.

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“We’re formally announcing today that the 2023 World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match play will be the final playing of the event here at Austin Country Club, and not be included on the 2024 calendar or moving forward,” he said.

Among the many challenges faced in the Match play format, the leading players are not always in contention, or even present, in the latter stages of the event. This makes the event less attractive to fanbases, which results in a loss of viewership and a burden on sponsorships.

But what did Mickelson have to say regarding the diminishing of the format? According to him, there were plenty of ways to re-design the format to suit the needs of everyone involved. “It’s a perfect format and opportunity to fill the Match Play void because the negative of the Match Play is that the most exciting days are earlier in the week,” he said.

“The fans and sponsors only have one or two matches to follow on the weekend, and the team aspect could make the Match Play much more exciting.”

Mickelson ponders over Match play in LIV Golf

Furthermore, the veteran golfer revealed that the LIV Golf Series’ team format could be beneficial in revitalizing the forgotten format.

“So there’s an opportunity with the team dynamic that LIV Golf could have a Match play scenario. It’s certainly something that we are discussing as a possibility for the season-ending event,” he revealed.

Do you think the Match play format could return to the PGA Tour in the near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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