Why Phil Mickelson may never play on PGA Tour again with LIV Golf's future in doubt

Left-handed golfers have more hoops to jump through in order to play their favorite sport, such as fewer bays at the driving range and potentially fewer and more expensive golf club options. Despite just 5-7% of golfers being left-hand dominant, according to Golf Monthly, Phil "Lefty" Mickelson has made a name for himself as one of, if not the best, left-handed golfers ever.

He has found his fair share of success throughout his golfing career, with six major championships and 45 PGA Tour event victories. However, Mickleson has increasingly begun to step away from the game he loves due to personal family matters.

A further question out of Lefty's control may also tie into his golf future: LIV Golf's increasingly imminent demise. The tour recently had its Saudi-backed investments pulled from it as the PIF has started moving away from its investments in sports to more traditional ones, according to Golf.com. If the league goes under, and Mickelson has the opportunity to return to the PGA Tour, he may have to think a bit before coming to a final conclusion about his career. Mickelson didn't exactly leave the PGA Tour in the best light, calling the tour "greedy," compared to its LIV counterpart.

Here's a look at what Mickelson's next steps could be, as LIV Golf's future looks grim.

MORE: What is the latest news about LIV Golf and its financial situation?

Why Phil Mickelson may never play on PGA Tour again

After the tour's first event in June 2022, LIV was expected to rival the PGA Tour as a league with higher payouts and other earnings to treat golfers to. However, with the tour's future not being too bright, it's valid to question if Mickelson will make a return to the PGA Tour.

In a recent appearance on the Awful Announcing Podcast, ESPN personality Trey Wingo opened up about the main reason Mickelson might have some difficulty returning to the PGA Tour. Mickelson's transition from the PGA to LIV was far from graceful. In fact, Wingo stated that Mickelson burned quite a few PGA bridges to be welcomed back into open arms. He went as far as saying golf fans will "never see" Lefty back on the PGA Tour.

"I can promise you one person that you’ll never see in any way in an official capacity with the PGA Tour is Phil Mickelson. That bridge has been burned, detonated, destroyed, nuked, lasered to death. There is no building that bridge back," Wingo explained.

Along with that factor, Mickleson has pulled out of multiple golf tournaments due to family matters, the most recent of which came prior to the 2026 Masters. Mickelson also announced in February that he would miss the opening two LIV Golf tournaments and later missed an additional two.

The golfer has been a pro since 1992, according to his LIV profile, and has played high-level golf for the vast majority of his storied career. Oftentimes, he was the only golfer to give Tiger Woods a true run for his money. 

MORE: What other problems has the LIV Tour come across this season?

Phil Mickelson LIV contract

Mickelson's 2022 LIV contract included a signing bonus of around $200 million, according to Golf Monthly. The famous left-handed golfer joined an entourage of talent that left the PGA Tour, which included top golfers Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.

It was reported that Mickelson received half of that $200 million up front. During his LIV play, Lefty earned finish payments that were similar to what he was already receiving with the PGA, with the addition of LIV's team-play format. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of his LIV earnings, both individually and team-based, per Spotrac.

Including the latest editions of payment, Mickelson has accumulated $117,955,685 in career earnings. According to Spotrac, he has earned the 6th-highest career earnings in golf history. 

MORE: What are the full details of Mickelson's LIV contract?

Phil Mickelson's family health matter

Ahead of this year's Masters Tournament, Mickleson was forced to step away from participating due to a family health matter. He has not shared details of a personal family matter with a larger audience. Here is Mickelson's full statement released on his social media pages.

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"I have great respect for Augusta National Golf Club and it is definitely the most special week of the year," Mickelson wrote. "I wish everyone the best of luck and will be watching."

Since Tiger Woods was also absent from this year's tournament at Augusta National due to stepping away to focus on his recovery, it was the first time neither Woods nor Mickelson would be at the Masters since 1994.

Mickelson has yet to update the golf audience on when he will return, as he has yet to suit up to further his golf career this season. With the LIV Tour's end appearing imminent on the horizon, more questions have been raised about whether Lefty will return to the PGA Tour or end his storied golf career.

MORE: What happened during the Rory McIlroy-Patrick Reed LIV Golf beef?