Will Phil Mickelson play the 2023 Masters?
Phil Mickelson was not present for the 2022 Masters, where Scottie Scheffler claimed the crown. Mickelson himself won the tournament in 2004, 2006, and 2010 and has participated in it many times.
There was much deliberation about whether the star golfer would even be allowed to compete in the event. He defected to and has become the de facto face of LIV Golf, a controversial upstart league.
Many tournaments don't allow those who have defected to play. Many view the LIV league as inferior and don't want to muddy up the tournaments for PGA Tour players.
However, the Masters appears to be rising above all of that. They recently announced that they would honor their original qualification criteria regardless of where the golfer played (LIV or PGA), saying:
"Recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming April."
They finished by saying in unequivocal terms that no one will face disqualification for being on LIV:
"Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament. As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the Tournament each year, and any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future Tournaments will be announced in April."
Based on that, Mickelson would qualify for the Masters. He could not participate last year but will likely get the opportunity to play this year. He probably won't pass that up.
What did Phil Mickelson say about the Masters 2023?
Before an official statement, when there was a lot of contention over LIV members potentially mixing with PGA players at the Masters, Phil Mickelson said he believed wholeheartedly that he would play at Augusta again. He said, according to Sports Illustrated:
“I believe wholeheartedly I’ll be at Augusta. I thought my conversations with Fred Ridley—which I will keep between us—were extremely classy. I have the utmost respect for him and the leaders of the majors."
He continued:
"There’s been to date no threat at all. I’m not saying that couldn’t change. I just don’t see how that could benefit anybody. I believe they are wise enough and great leaders who can see that.’’
Mickelson's feelings were correct as he will be invited based on one of the many ways to qualify for the event.
This is good news for other LIV members like Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, and others. They were potentially going to miss out on the event thanks to their allegiance, but they don't have to worry about that anymore.
The Masters will take place in April of 2023, and invitations will pour out shortly. It looks like Phil Mickelson will get an invitation he will probably accept.