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Phil Mickelson is confident that the Saudi circuit would easily outscore the PGA Tour players in a Ryder Cup-format match involving LIV Golf teams and Tour players.
The six-time Major winner was drawn to a recent discussion on X (formerly Twitter) over a possible match between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. A golf enthusiast named Danny Woodhead reshared a post from Flushing It Golf suggesting a game between the two rival series. The post reads as follows:
"If there was a LIV v PGA Tour team event right now in a Ryder Cup format with Phil and Tiger as captains, it would be the most watched golf event in history."
Mickelson, who is playing in this week's LIV Golf Mayakoba event, commented on the post, sharing his opinion on the same. The HyFlyers captain asserted that LIV Golf teams would win the competition "so soundly."
He wrote:
"It sounds great, but we would dominate them so soundly."
In an additional tweet, Mickelson jokingly stated that any match between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf would not take place anytime soon since the views on TV would soar in a matter of hours and broadcasters would need to fill "dead time" also. He continued:
"It would be over so quick that tv would have to fill an hour of dead time. That’s why it’s not happening at this time."
There are three different formats for the Ryder Cup. Players compete in foursome and fourball formats during the first two days, with Sunday singles—a one-on-one match—coming next. Only two teams, though, compete in the biennial competition.
Meanwhile, LIV and PGA Tour events both take place in stroke-play format, with only differences in holes. The regular events on the PGA Tour follow a 72-hole format, whereas the Saudi circuit uses a 54-hole format. Furthermore, unlike the PGA Tour, LIV Golf tournaments do not have cutlines following specific holes.
But the main reason Phil Mickelson is so confident in his group is that most of the Ryder Cup heroes—Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and even Mickelson himself—currently play in LIV Golf.
However, it is interesting to note that in last year's edition of the Ryder Cup, only one LIV golfer, Brooks Koepka, was present on the field, while the rest of the players were from the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton played at the Ryder Cup in 2023 but they were tour members back then. They have recently joined LIV Golf.
Phil Mickelson's record at the Ryder Cup
Phil Mickelson has played at the Ryder Cup 12 times in his career. He is one of the most experienced players who compete in the biennial tournament.
Mickelson made his debut at the Ryder Cup in 1995 and did not miss any editions of the tournament until 2021.
Here is a quick recap of Phil Mickelson's Ryder Cup outings over the years:
- Career Ryder Cup record (Wins, Losses, Halves): 18-22-7
- Years Played: 1995-97-99-2002-04-06-08-10-12-14-16-18
- Total Matches: 47
- Singles (W-L-H): 8-6-1
- Foursomes (W-L-H): 5-8-4
- Four-balls (W-L-H): 8-8-2
