Phil Mickelson has claimed that he suggested the PGA Tour 's new elevated event changes to commissioner Jay Monahan, before making his move to the LIV Golf Series. Mickelson dominated headlines last year, after ending his 30-year relationship with the PGA Tour.
This came after the 54-time Tour winner joined up with Greg Norman and co at LIV Golf ahead of the maiden season last summer. Since then, the 52-year-old has made his feelings clear about the PGA Tour, and has once again had his say following the American-based circuit's latest announcement.
Last week commissioner Monahan confirmed that the Tour were bringing in a group of no-cut, limited field 'elevated events' which look set to replace the annual World Golf Championships.
Amid the overhaul, PGA Tour bosses have been criticised - especially from their rivals at LIV - with the soon-to-be introduced events extremely similar to those contested on the Saudi-backed circuit. Following the announcement, Mickelson has revealed he took similar plans to Monahan but was shut down during his time on the Tour.
Taking to Twitter, he said: "Before I left I brought a $1billion commitment from a current PGATour partner to have eight elevated events and give equity and ownership in these events to the players. M's quote was 'I don't believe the league is going to happen so we won't be doing that.' No vote, no discussion."
Monahan and co have staunchly defended the overhaul, claiming a key component behind the idea is to have the world's best golfers competing against each other more frequently. Speaking at this week's Players Championship, the commissioner said: "One great chapter does not make a great book.
"It is the whole story, the ebbs and the flows, the transitions, the connectivity between each. That's what makes a book great, and that's what you need to do to deliver a bestseller. We must showcase our top performers competing against one another more often. This is what fans want and this is what fans have been asking for."
What do you make of the PGA Tour's changes? Let us know in the comments section below.
Rory McIlroy has also put his backing behind the new plans, and even had some rare kind words for his rivals over at LIV Golf. Claiming the Saudi-backed circuit had 'benefited everyone', he said: "I'm not going to sit here and lie; I think the emergence of LIV or the emergence of a competitor to the PGA Tour has benefited everyone that plays elite professional golf...
"This has caused a ton of innovation at the PGA Tour and what was quite, I would say, an antiquated system is being revamped to try to mirror where we're at in the world in the 21st century with the media landscape. LIV coming along, it's definitely had a massive impact on the game, but I think everyone who's a professional golfer is going to benefit from it going forward."
