Phil Mickelson drops truthbomb on what will drive LIV Golf’s success: “Something you wouldn’t think.”

Phil Mickelson recently made his feelings known on what will make LIV Golf a successful entity. While he had many reasons, he felt the most important one would be the fan experience.

Mickelson is a 45-time winner on the PGA Tour, including six major championships. However, he became one of the first LIV Golf signees in 2022 in a historic move and has been playing on the rival circuit since then.

Recently, Phil Mickelson appeared on The Joe Pomp Show, where he spoke about LIV Golf's future.

"So there’s a lot of reasons why I believe LIV is going to be successful, but the number one reason would be something you wouldn’t think,” he said. "That is this: It’s how you feel. This is where I’m going with this. You can identify if something is right for you or not based on how you feel. Am I anxious? Am I dreading something coming up? Or am I looking forward to it and excited?"

He added that, usually on the PGA Tour, it is an uncomfortable experience for a parent to bring a child, as they are asked to be quiet. He told Pompliano that it was a bit of a hustling experience for the fans and often left kids feeling tired.

"The golf fan is the most loyal fan, paying for a ticket, walking miles and seeing a fraction of the action," he continued. "It's not like other sports where you buy a seat and you get to see 100 percent of the action and you don’t have to move.

"We have a very loyal fan base. But when you’re with kids, it’s very uncomfortable at a Tour event because you have a six-year-old or a young child, and you're like, 'OK, don’t talk right now. Come over here.' Now they've walked and they are tired and they don’t have a place to go."

He added that this wasn't the case at a LIV Golf event, where live music played on the course and golfers didn’t hear kids speaking, so it didn’t disturb them during the round.

"There’s a fan zone like on the course where you can sit down, take a break, grab some drinks. It’s like a little hang. You can take a nap. They have a kid zone by the clubhouse where, again, you can take a nap, play putt-putt, play games for them and entertain them with a big screen so you can still see what’s going on with the golf.

Phil Mickelson further stated that this experience helped make both parents and kids feel comfortable and enjoy their time rather than feeling worried. He added that this fan experience would be the primary reason for LIV Golf's future success.

"You walk away feeling like, 'Oh, I really enjoyed that. Let’s go back.' Then, when you go to a Tour event, it’s like that was great but you are worn out and tired. Now, not many people will articulate that but they will feel it," he concluded.

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What's next for Phil Mickelson?

While several LIV Golf professionals are in action this week at the International Series India, Phil Mickelson will begin his season next week at LIV Golf Riyadh, which will take place from February 6 to 8 at Riyadh Golf Club.

Phil Mickelson was last seen at the LIV Golf Team Championship, where his team, HyFlyers, made it to the semifinals. Last season, he played 13 events on the circuit, with just one top-10 finish. He also had disappointing results in the majors, missing the cut in two of the four championships.

Here are Phil Mickelson's results in 2024:

LIV Golf

• LIV Golf Mayakoba - T51
• LIV Golf Las Vegas - T30
• LIV Golf Jeddah - T6
• LIV Golf Hong Kong - T52
• LIV Golf Miami - 47
• LIV Golf Adelaide - T38
• LIV Golf Singapore - T22
• LIV Golf Houston - T37
• LIV Golf Nashville - T40
• LIV Golf Andalucía - T27
• LIV Golf United Kingdom - T34
• LIV Golf Greenbrier - 50
• LIV Golf Chicago - T23

PGA Tour

• Masters Tournament - T43
• PGA Championship - CUT
• U.S. Open - CUT
• The Open - T60