Phil Mickelson Ripped by 6-Time Major Winner After Breaking Public Silence

Nick Faldo delivered a blistering rebuke of Phil Mickelson’s favorite LIV Golf catchphrase this week, questioning whether the circuit can survive its looming funding cutoff.

Faldo’s barbs came just days after Mickelson, who has played just one tournament this year amid scandals and reports of a family health matter, appeared to emerge from his seeming seclusion.

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The six-time major champion’s comments, made on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, landed as LIV Golf enters an uncertain offseason, with its Saudi financial backer stepping back and players reportedly eyeing the exits.

Faldo Rips Mickelson’s “Growing the Game” Line

“I get very frustrated when they throw out lines like growing the game of golf,” Faldo said, as quoted by The Express. He pointed to a recent Mickelson stop in Hong Kong, where the LIV Golf HyFlyers GC captain framed the trip as an investment in junior golf.

“Phil flew out to Hong Kong and said we are growing the game of golf for the juniors,” Faldo said. “I thought, sunshine, I was here 20 years ago with a golfer called Rory McIlroy and a girl called Yani Tseng. I’ve got 240 nippers here in the next two days, because we had 4,000 at my Faldo Futures. My series is 30 years old. That is growing the game of golf, not just bowling up in Hong Kong once.”

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Faldo didn’t stop at Mickelson. He also questioned whether LIV Golf can survive in its current form now that the Saudi Public Investment Fund has signaled it will pull funding after this season.

“I am hearing from the back of the range that more captains have said that they are done with their team,” Faldo said. “The bottom line is more players are wanting to leave LIV than wanting to come to LIV right now.”

He argued the league’s guaranteed paydays and no-cut format have stripped away the pressure that defines real competition. “I get frustrated with all of that because it’s not championship golf,” Faldo said. “There’s just not that pressure of the fear of failure.”

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Mickelson Was an Early and Vocal LIV Golf Backer

Mickelson’s promotional language dates back to his earliest days with the breakaway league. He signed with LIV Golf in June 2022 for a deal reported at nearly $200 million, calling the move a “fresh start” that was “clearly transformative, not just for myself but ideally for the game and my peers,” according to Sports Illustrated.

He has repeated versions of the growth argument for years since, tying LIV Golf’s global schedule to expanding the sport beyond the United States.

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Mickelson’s public profile has shrunk dramatically in 2026. He made just one competitive start, tied for 48th at LIV Golf’s South Africa event in March, and missed all four majors this year for the first time in his professional career while citing a family health matter, according to Golf Digest.

He briefly resurfaced last week without appearing in public. After HyFlyers GC rookie Michael La Sasso won LIV Golf’s Indianapolis season finale, edging Jon Rahm by a shot, La Sasso revealed Mickelson had texted the team the night before.

“I know he was watching, said it was the most fun he’s had,” La Sasso said, as quoted by The Express. “I’m sure he was looking at us, and I’m thankful for everything he’s done.”

La Sasso also called his captain “an absolute legend of the game” who was “absolutely unbelievable to me the entire year.”

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Faldo’s comments landed just days after that finale, with LIV Golf’s offseason now shadowed by the funding cutoff and, in Faldo’s telling, a locker room growing restless.

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