Phil Mickelson put the PGA Championship on blast in a now-deleted tweet. It was the latest in the golfer’s criticism of the PGA Tour since he defected for LIV.
Mickelson critiqued the major’s qualifying criteria and how it pertains to LIV golfers getting a chance to play in one of the four biggest tournaments. Some players have exemptions but in future years, that might run out if they play on LIV.
Mickelson called out the process when Talor Gooch was not guaranteed a spot. The same was true for the U.S. Open.
Cameron Tringale (No. 103), Jason Kokrak (No. 110) and Sebastian Munoz (No. 111) were not invited to play. All three golfers are a part of LIV.
However, Beau Hossler, a member of the PGA Tour, is ranked No. 128 and was invited. Mickelson called out the lack of respect for players on the LIV Tour.
“3 years from now who is most likely to still be here? Monahan or LIV? We won’t forget. You too Whan,” Mickelson wrote, calling out both the commissioner of the PGA Tour (Jay Monahan) and the CEO of the USGA (Mike Whan).
Despite the rankings, world No. 131 Paul Casey, a LIV member, was invited to play in the major.
Phil Mickelson slams USGA over Talor Gooch
In a recent change, the USGA said golfers “must be both qualified and eligible for the Tour Championship.” Because Gooch is playing for LIV now, he isn’t playing on the PGA Tour anymore. That, as a result, doesn’t make him “eligible” for the U.S. Open.
Mickelson blasted USGA CEO Mike Whan in a tweet earlier this week about the situation and the decision to keep Gooch from playing in the U.S. Open.
“Hey Mike, what about changing a rule and making it retroactive to exclude someone who has already qualified?” Mickelson tweeted. “How can Talor Gooch not take that personal? It’s a direct attack on him and his career. How does it benefit the USGA or U.S. Open? It doesn’t. Just a d!*k move.”
A user then said Gooch might not be one of the best in the world since he didn’t qualify. But Mickelson fired back by pointing out the old rules, which were in place when Gooch played in the Tour Championship and have since been changed.
“He qualified 9 months ago via Tour championship,” Mickelson said. “3 months ago Whan changed the wording on the qualifying criteria to take it away. Total d!*k move by Whan. He leads our governing body. Sad.”
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