Why is LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson missing The Match 2023? Real reason explored
Phil Mickelson will not be at The Match this year. The Match is an exciting celebrity golf tournament held biannually, and this year it will be held at the Wynn Golf Course beginning on June 29.
Mickelson was one of the leading hands to create and inaugurate The Match. However, over a year ago, Phil Mickelson left the PGA Tour to join the LIV Golf Series. This meant that his PGA Tour card was no longer eligible and he was suspended from the tour.
Mickelson leaving the PGA Tour also meant that he would no longer be affiliated with the match, which is primarily a PGA Tour event. Creator and producer Bryan Zuriff spoke about Mickelson's exclusion from the event, saying that Mickelson had now chosen a different path and would no longer play in The Match anytime soon.
Zuriff said via Sports Illustrated:
"Look, we’re in business with the PGA Tour. We’re basically a PGA Tour event. Maybe one day, LIV will figure out their stuff. Then I’ll work with whomever is appropriate.”
Since his departure from the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson has not been a part of the Match. Now with the new LIV Golf x PGA Tour merger being announced there might be a chance that he will participate in the coming years.
With Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods missing, The Match 2023 sees new twist
This year with Tiger Woods missing as well, The Match will be presented with quite a twist. The Match will see an all-NBA vs. NFL showdown as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson take on Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Stephen Curry may be as good a golf player as he is a basketball player… this shot is INSANE! 😳
Curry & Klay Thompson will actually compete against the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce in a 2-on-2 “The Match” event on Thursday night ⛳️
Via. @NBCSAuthentic twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/MMPpu7NsUT
Mickelson first played in the event when it was inaugurated in 2018. He played against Tiger Woods in the Match: Tiger vs. Phil. Mickelson won the battle that lasted over 22 holes and even had four playoffs. Speaking about the very first event that was played, Zuriff said:
"I had this idea to do Tiger Woods versus Phil, head-to-head, something everyone wanted to see at the time. Tiger was just back on tour, Phil had just won in Mexico, so there was some momentum to their relationship."
Since then several such events have been played with have included the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Tom Brady, and Rory McIlroy