“A force in the game that’s not going away” - Phil Mickelson backs LIV Golf again amid remarks from PGA stars

The rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continues to grow daily. The two leagues generally disdain one another, with the PGA Tour looking down upon and considering LIV to be a lesser tournament. Despite that, LIV continues to grow and attract stars like Phil Mickelson to play for it.Rory McIlroy, the world's top-ranked golfer at the moment, has vitriol for LIV Golf. He's been one of its most ardent detractors since it sprang up in the last several months.The CJ Cup - Final RoundMcIlroy is not pleased with his former Tour mates who defected to LIV. He continues to slam the league and its members quite often. Mickelson, who may be considered the face of LIV, isn't taking too much stock in McIlroy's comments:“If I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away.”Mickelson firmly believes in what the LIV Golf league is doing, especially since they're doing team tournaments that never occurred on the PGA Tour:&quot;We’ll have three months off after this event to talk about things like that and so forth, but this week something is happening that I don’t want to deflect focus on, which is we’ve never had a team event like this in professional golf.”Mickelson is referring to LIV Golf's upcoming Team Championship, in which several teams will compete for a significant prize purse.Fan reactions to Mickelson, McIlroy spat over PGA Tour and LIV GolfLike the two leagues, there are two sides to the fan reaction to these comments. Like some golfers who hate LIV Golf, some fans feel the same about the tournament.On the other hand, there are supporters as well. One Twitter user thinks that the PGA Tour is overreacting.Jon Green@JonnyDollarz@McIlroyRory @PhilMickelson It's the PGA who has betrayed the LIV golfers by suspending them. They should be able to play any PGA event as long as they satisfy the requirements. Players can play in Europe, Asia, etc, the LIV is no different except for format.@McIlroyRory @PhilMickelson It's the PGA who has betrayed the LIV golfers by suspending them. They should be able to play any PGA event as long as they satisfy the requirements. Players can play in Europe, Asia, etc, the LIV is no different except for format.One thinks a golfer as divisive as McIlroy should stay away from conflict.LIV Golf Nation@LIVGolfNationRory McIlroy is the most divisive golfer in the world, he should keep Phil Mickelson's name out of his mouth.33628Rory McIlroy is the most divisive golfer in the world, he should keep Phil Mickelson's name out of his mouth.Others trolled Mickelson for leaving the PGA Tour.Rob Smith@rcssmedasmith@usatodaysports Is Phil still around?@usatodaysports Is Phil still around?One fan thought McIlroy's comments couldn't have been more accurate regarding Mickelson and LIV.Chris Smith@jchrissmith0007Rory is spot on ... calling Phil Mickelson's comments on LIV golf propaganda. Phil was bought by the Saudi's to pump up the LIV financed tour ... in order to WHITEWASH the Saudi policies and Phil is glad to oblige since he was paid $200 million to join.yahoo.com/sports/rory-mc…447Rory is spot on ... calling Phil Mickelson's comments on LIV golf propaganda. Phil was bought by the Saudi's to pump up the LIV financed tour ... in order to WHITEWASH the Saudi policies and Phil is glad to oblige since he was paid $200 million to join.yahoo.com/sports/rory-mc…Another fan called the new golf league a &quot;beer league.&quot;Larry Dezorzi@LarryDezorzi@EvinPriest Nobody cares what beer league golfers have to say about the best player in the world. 🤡1@EvinPriest Nobody cares what beer league golfers have to say about the best player in the world. 🤡Others believe that Mickelson is just saying what LIV wants him to say.ME@GolfFBI@golfweek Mickelson says LIV told me say- -! @golfweek Mickelson says LIV told me say- -! 😎There is an ever-growing divide in the sport of golf. Perhaps McIlroy's comments about an &quot;irreparable split&quot; are not out of place.However, with LIV growing and adding top players from the PGA Tour, it is clear they are here to stay, as Mickelson said, at least for the time being.It's unclear how all this will shake out, but it doesn't feel like there can ever be a return to normalcy for the game of golf. LIV wanted to shake it up and disrupt the status quo, but they may not have intended to do so in this fashion.

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