Phil Mickelson has said that LIV Golf "would be perfect" for Rory McIlroy but he doesn't think any team would want him "because they'd have to deal with all his bs."
Mickelson's dig came after the Northern Irishman spoke of a want for an off-season, with McIlroy skipping the RBC Heritage in the week after The Masters, and incurring a $3m fine, for his "mental and emotional well-being.”
"We have all been advocating for an off-season and there's certain reasons why guys want - it's very hard to try to play your best golf when you're really thinking about your golf swing," McIlroy said at this week's Memorial Tournament.
"So that off-season time would be nice to work on your mechanics and your fundamentals so that you've got those sort of bedded in so that you can sort of roll going into the bulk of the season. I didn't really feel like I had the necessary time to do that over the -- you want to take a little bit of time off over the holidays, get yourself back into it.
"So it's just - my reluctancy to work on, like I know it's been creeping in, but reluctancy to work on it was more to do with the fact of how much golf we had coming up and just not really wanting to be thinking about my golf swing a ton."
The more Rory McIlroy speaks lately, the more he validates everything Phil Mickelson said about playing less golf & having an offseason etc and how it will improve the play of the world's best. Can someone let Rory's agent know there is an open spot on @SmashGC #LIVgolf pic.twitter.com/xufzIgVXlvJune 2, 2023
A Twitter user suggested that Mickelson was right when he said that LIV was the best way to prepare for Majors and even mentioned that there might be a spare spot on the Smash GC team after reports that Matthew Wolff had departed the quartet captained by Brooks Koepka.
"As worn out as McIlroy was after the Masters and his need for an off season, LIV would be perfect for him," Mickelson wrote on Twitter. "Problem is I don't think there's a team that wants him on it because they'd have to deal with all his bs."
The pair have had another back-and-forth recently after McIlroy was asked about Mickelson's comments on the way LIV helped prepare players for golf's biggest tournaments. The four-time Major champion called Lefty's idea "flawed."
“Love LIV or hate it, it’s the best way/Tour to be your best in the majors," Mickelson tweeted after Brooks Koepka's PGA Championship victory. "Enough events to keep you sharp, fresh and ready, yet not be worn down from too many tournaments or obligations. 14 LIV events, 34 weeks left open to prepare for the 4 majors. Fact.”
McIlroy responded by saying: “You know, no one makes anyone play 25 events on the PGA Tour. 15's the minimum. So you can play 15 and your four Major championships and there you go. You're at 19. No one's making you play that many. So I think that's a pretty flawed argument.”
The pair clearly aren't on the best terms after McIlroy was seen saying "F*** you Phil!" in his episode of the Netflix Full Swing docuseries.
It's unclear as to what "bs" Mickelson is referring to in regards to LIV teams not wanting McIlroy to play for them, so we'll await any follow ups.
One thing is for sure and that is that McIlroy will highly unlikely ever make the switch to LIV. He has been one of the strongest proponents of the traditional PGA Tour circuit and has spoken out many times against the Saudi-backed tour.
