Phil Mickelson says feedback from LIV Golf, PGA Tour competitors 'appreciative' over new windfall for sport

Phil Mickelson said he has heard from «numerous» professional golfers from both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour about the current upheaval in the sport and the changes that have come as a result of it.

«I think players on both sides of LIV and the PGA Tour are appreciative of what is happening,» the 52-year-old Mickelson told Sports Illustrated in an interview published Thursday. «Every player is benefiting.… There was no leverage. There were no other options.»

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan last week announced the PGA Tour's top players had committed to compete in 20 events, including 13 elevated events with average purses of $20 million, starting in 2023.

«I'm extremely happy that the top players are being listened to and that their input is being valued. And that those events are coming about.''

Mickelson, however, is no longer part of that discussion. He has had his PGA Tour membership suspended after 30 years, along with other competitors who have made the jump to LIV Golf. He is among a group of those suspended golfers to have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.

»My commitment now is with LIV," Mickelson told Sports Illustrated. «We've made some major disruption to the sport of golf, and have created some really unique opportunities for players and fans. And we're just getting started.

»… I would say I'm generally happy that the top players who are really driving the Tour and creating the interest are being listened to. And what they are doing for the Tour is being valued now. I'm happy to see that happen."

Mickelson said he doesn't feel «vindication» by the new direction that the PGA Tour has taken. It's one that he says he had discussed multiple times with former commissioner Tim Finchem and then