Mickelson's Major Claims

Phil's beef with the PGA Tour drags major championships into the discussion. But he's also retiring if he wins this year's U.S. Open.

Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson at Royal Greens (Luke Walker/WME IMG)

After a fairly benign press conference prior to the PIFSIPSIA, Phil Mickelson opened up to GolfDigest.com’s John Huggan about all things money. Some of his concerns with the PGA Tour are legit, others seem dubious, and all of it feels like separation anxiety prior to an inevitable move to whatever Greg Norman and the Saudis launch.

Over at the blog I covered the PGA Tour-related elements shared by Mickelson. But this is a majors-focused newsletter and since he lumped them into the discussion—minus the vitriol directed at the Global Home—the claims are worth analyzing since they give us a window into how some things work.

Win The U.S. Open And Retire

All of this off-course business talk might be moot if he can win the 2023 U.S. Open at The Country Club. Huggan led with Mickelson’s claim that should he win in Brookline, it’s a wrap.

“If I win the U.S. Open, I will retire,” he told Golf Digest in an interview on Wednesday. “That would be my last tournament. I will have achieved the career Grand Slam and I won’t have anything more to prove.”

I assume someone in Saudi legal is adding some contract language about getting their sizable advance back should this scenario occur. While I don’t have a degree, here’s a draft I’ve cooked up. Feel free to use, LIV Golf legal:

If you, Phil Mickelson, should win the United States Open and retire, you will refund the money we paid you or end up chopped to pieces and incinerated, never to be traced again.

I probably need some heretofores and force majeures to make it stick. But you get the idea.