Mickelson: “I see LIV Golf trending upwards and I see the PGA Tour trending downwards”

(L-R) Caddie Craig Connelly, Team Captain Sergio Garcia of Fireballs GC, Team Captain Martin Kaymer of Cleeks GC and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra of Fireballs GC attend the welcome party at Lagoona Escape prior to the start of the LIV Golf Invitational - Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on October 12, 2022 in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/LIV Golf via Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson believes future tour players will have to “pick a side” and even predicts the LIV Golf will eventually outstrip the PGA Tour.

The six-time Major champion (52), who has accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and admitted to contracting lawyers to help set up LIV Golf, has been the Saudi-backed tour’s biggest signing.

After telling author Alan Shipnuck the Saudis were "scary m*****f******" to get involved with", he not only distanced himself from those comments in Jeddah yesterday, he predicted LIV Golf would eventual prevail in its battle with the PGA Tour.

"So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck,” he said of his biography without denying the call took place. “And I find that my experience with everybody associated with LIV Golf has been nothing but incredibly positive and I have the utmost respect for everybody that I've been involved with.”

No longer optimistic about the PGA Tour and LIV Golf co-existing, he added: “I see LIV Golf trending upwards and I see the PGA Tour trending downwards. For a long, long time, my 30 years on the PGA Tour, pretty much all the best players played on the PGA Tour... That will never be the case again.

"I think going forward, you have to pick a side. You have to pick what side do you think is going to be successful.And I firmly believe that I'm on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professional golf.’’

Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick and Ryan Fox have work to do to close the gap on Rory McIlroy in the DP World Tour Rankings after carding three-over 74s in the Andalucía Masters at Valderrama.

Ranked second and third behind McIlroy, they are tied 21st, eight shots behind Pep Angles, David Horsey, Min Woo Lee, Jazz Jannewattanond and Soren Kjeldsen, who opened with 66s.

Jonathan Caldwell was four-under through eight holes but slipped to 31st after a  71.

In the Challenge Tour’s fog-delayed English Trophy at Frilford Heath, 64th-ranked Conor Purcell shot a five-under 67 to lie just three shots off the lead as he bids to make the top 45 in the standings who qualify for next month’s Grand Final.

Kinsale’s John Murphy, ranked 42nd, was four-under (6 holes), 46th-ranked Ruaidhri McGee three-under (15), 15th-ranked Tom McKibbin two-under (9) and Gavin Moynihan four-over (12) as Mallow’s James Sugrue shot 71.

On the Ladies European Tour, Leona Maguire came back from four-over after nine holes to open with a two-over 74 in the Aramco Team Series-New York at a wet and blustery Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.

She was tied 22nd, six shots behind Belgium’s Manon De Roey, who shot 68 to head the field by two strokes.