Phil Mickelson’s absence notable as LIV Golf returns to Trump National

Phil Mickelson has had a warm relationship with golf in the New York/New Jersey area over his career, but with LIV Golf’s swing through the Garden State this week, the golf great remained absent.

The six-time major winner was not on the course at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster as he missed all but one event on this year’s LIV schedule.

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Mickelson has been sparsely seen while he deals with a “family health matter,” he announced back in April.

Mickelson was replaced by Scott Vincent on the HyFlyers GC roster for LIV’s New York event this week and teammate Brendan Steele said this week that “obviously we want Phil here.”

“Scott is an awesome replacement, and he’s been really, really great for us all around,” Steele added.

Steele said that he does speak with Mickelson “here and there” and declined to comment about how winnings are split up with Mickelson while he’s been away from the team he captains.

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“I don’t know any of the mechanics of anything like that,” he said. “We wish him well. We want him to be happy and healthy, and that’s pretty much all I can say.”

When asked about Mickelson’s absence, golfer Lee Westwood said that he hadn’t spoken with Mickelson, but him not being there does have an impact.

“Obviously, Phil is a big draw. He has a lot of fans,” Westwood said. “He would attract more fans to any tournament he played in. There’s certain people over the years that’s moved the needle, and Phil is one of them.”

Mickelson’s absence has come not only amid one of the biggest times of LIV Golf’s existence, as it faces continued questions about its viability even after announcing it secured an investor that will help keep the league going beyond this season.

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It also has been going on as questions about his conduct at golf clubs have come up in multiple media reports.

In June, Golf Digest reported that Mickelson had been booted from a country club in Rancho Santa Fe after he was accused of making “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with a female employee of the club.

Later that same month, Skratch published a piece that alleged that Mickelson had shown a string of inappropriate behavior over a lengthy period of time.

President Trump is expected to attend some of the LIV Golf New York event at his golf club in Bedminster.

The White House had previously confirmed to USA Today that Trump would make an appearance, and The Post spotted Secret Service agents on the grounds during Friday’s second round.

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The president had attended the third round of the LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia in May as well.

LIV Golf New York is the second-to-last event on the league’s calendar this year.