“We’re playing the majors” – Throwback to when Phil Mickelson opened up about LIV Golfers at major championships

Phil Mickelson delivered a surprise performance in the 2023 Masters final round. The six-time major champion finished tied for second place with another LIV golfer, Brooks Koepka, as Jon Rahm won the event.

Mickelson opened up about LIV Golf players competing in major events during a pre-tournament press conference for the April event. The Saudi-backed circuit players were forbidden from competing in PGA Tour events but could compete in major events.

Speaking about the LIV Golf players' involvement at the Masters, Phil Mickelson said:

"I'm very appreciative that we're here and that we're playing the majors and I thought it was exciting that the tournament. Rose above it all to have the best players in the world here and lost all the pettiness."

The 52-year-old golfer added:

"I thought that was great. I'm happy with where I wanted something different for a lot of reasons and I'm getting a lot of it because the having team environment where I was in high school and college golf, elevated my game having players and compete with it brought great energy and excitement and that's what this is what did for me at LIV."

Mickelson also expressed his excitement to compete at the Masters and added:

"We're excited to go down there there's a lot of anticipation and we're looking forward to that at the end of this week. I'm going to meet with some of my teammates. We're in practice together before we get on a plane and head down. There and I'm looking to that I also feel like this is a great week to kind of give me a boost."

LIV golfers have struggled to achieve the major tournament qualification criteria. However, the ones that have competed in the majors astounded everyone with their great performances.

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How did LIV golfers fare at the major events?

Eighteen LIV golfers played at the 2023 Masters, with two of them finishing in second position. Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson were tied for second place at the Augusta event while Patrick Reed finished in fourth place.

Here is a performance recap of all 18 LIV golfers at the Masters:

Brooks Koepka

• Finish: T2

Phil Mickelson

• Finish: T2

Patrick Reed

• Finish: T4

Joaquin Niemann

• Finish: T16

Harold Varner III

• Finish: T29

Cameron Smith

• Finish: T34

Talor Gooch

• Finish: T34

Abraham Ancer

• Finish: T39

Mito Pereira

• Finish: T43

Thomas Pieters

• Finish: T48

Dustin Johnson

• Finish: T48

Charl Schwartzel

• Finish: T50

Golfers who missed the cut

• Bryson DeChambeau
• Sergio Garcia
• Jason Kokrak
• Bubba Watson

Withdrawal

• Louis Oosthuizen
• Kevin Na

The second major of the year was held in May. Brooks Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship and became the first LIV golfer to win a major event.

Three golfers from the Saudi-backed series finished in the top 10 at the PGA Championship, while five others missed the cut.

Here is the result of the 2023 PGA Championship:

Brooks Koepka

• Finish: Winner

Bryson DeChambeau

• Finish: T4

Cameron Smith

• Finish: T9

Patrick Reed

• Finish: T18

Mito Pereira

• Finish: T18

Harold Varner III

• Finish: T29

Thomas Pieters

• Finish: T40

Dean Burmester

• Finish: 54th

Dustin Johnson

• Finish: T55

Phil Mickelson

• Finish: T58

Sihwan Kim

• Finish: T62

Abraham Ancer

• Finish: Missed Cut

Talor Gooch

• Finish: Missed Cut

Anirban Lahiri

• Finish: Missed Cut

Joaquin Niemann

• Finish: Missed Cut

Brendan Steele

• Finish: Missed Cut

The third major, the US Open is just around the corner. The tournament will start on June 15 and will run continue till June 18.