Before LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson Reminds That There Was a Proposal Similar to the New-Look PGA Tour

As PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan outlined the new “designated events model’’ that will go into effect in 2024, Phil Mickelson took to Twitter on Tuesday.

The World Golf Hall of Famer who a year ago missed the Players Championship while taking a leave due to the controversy surrounding LIV Golf, suggested that another plan that was similar to what Monahan unveiled was proposed and rejected without consideration by the PGA Tour Policy Board.

“Before I left I brought a $1 billion commitment from a current PGA Tour partner to have 8 elevated events and give equity and ownership in these events to the players,’’ Mickelson wrote. “JM’s quote was 'I don’t believe the league is going to happen we won’t be doing that.' No vote, no discussion."

Before I left I brought a $1 billion commitment from a current PGATour partner to have 8 elevated events and give equity and ownership in these events to the players. JM’s quote was “ I don’t believe the league is going to happen so we won’t be doing that.” No vote,no discussion
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 7, 2023

Through a representative, Mickelson declined to comment.

What was he talking about?

Mickelson was apparently referencing details that were reported last year by the New York Post. The idea referenced in the tweet was discussed by Mickelson and Monahan, and that well-funded company that has ties to the PGA Tour through a gambling venture was involved.

The company would have put up $500 million to start and added another $500 million for a series of eight big-money tournaments with purses from $20 to $25 million that would have had between 48 and 60 players playing once a month, with six events occurring prior to the FedEx Cup playoffs and two more afterward.

Unlike LIV Golf, the plan would not have seen players break away from the PGA Tour but rather be granted permission to these events that would either be staged at existing Tour sites or in markets where there is no PGA Tour golf.

The big hang-up would have been the PGA Tour stepping aside to let another group run and administer the tournaments, negotiate a TV deal, sign sponsorship agreements, etc. The group would have paid the PGA Tour $2 million as a fee per tournament to partner with this concept.

Another hang-up: the players getting an equity stake in the arrangement, with 50 percent going to the players and the other 50 percent going to the ownership group. Much like the captains of the LIV Golf League’s 12 teams have equity in their franchises, the players who participated in the venture Mickelson referenced would have been in position to share in any equity the concept built based on the number of events they played.

All of this occurred in late 2021, before LIV Golf was announced but was gaining momentum behind the scenes.

According a New York Post report in February 2022, Monahan brought the proposal to Ed Herlihy, an Augusta National member who is one of the independent directors on the PGA Tour Policy Board. In late October, Herlihy, as reported by the Post, said “if it’s not 100 percent owned and controlled by the PGA Tour, it will be viewed as hostile."

Monahan has said at various times that he would not engage in talks with LIV CEO Greg Norman and also noted the antitrust suit that several LIV players and the LIV organization filed against the PGA Tour.

In Mickelson’s tweet, he referenced “no vote, no discussion," which suggests that the full board, which includes five players, was not brought in to discuss.

Since that time, Mickelson became a lightning rod of controversy as he was among the high-profile past major champions to join LIV Golf, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and later Cam Smith.

And yet, some of the things Mickelson spoke of have now been enacted. The Tour will now have eight designated events next year with limited fields, no cuts and big purses, most being $20 million. LIV Golf has a 14-tournament schedule with just 48 players, no cuts and $25 million purses with a team component. Just as importantly, LIV recognizes the top players by giving equity to the captains in their teams and hence giving equity in the growth of their teams. Mickelson was particularly big on getting more money to the star players and having more elite events.

“As much as I probably don’t want to give Phil any sort of credit at all, yeah, there were certain points that he was trying to make," McIlroy said last year at the Tour Championship when the initial designated concept was first announced. “But there’s a way to go about them. There’s a way to collaborate. You get all the top players in the world together and you get them on the same page. You then go to the Tour and suggest ideas and you work together. This was pure collaboration."

McIlroy was among the players on Tuesday who acknowledged that LIV Golf had an impact on the changes.

“Oh, it’s LIV Golf. Without a doubt," said Jon Rahm, the No. 1-ranked player in the world. “Without LIV Golf, this wouldn’t have happened. To an extent, we should be thankful this threat has made the PGA Tour want to change things. I wish it didn’t come to the PGA Tour being under fire from somebody else to make those changes and make things better for the players, but I guess it is what we needed. So yeah, it is because of LIV Golf, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen any of this."