Phil Mickelson is seemingly paying the price for his LIV Golf switch if his world ranking is anything to go by, after slipping out of the world's top 300 players for the first time in his professional career.
Mickelson competed in LIV Golf's opening event of their 2023 season last weekend, finishing in a tie for 27th at Mayakoba, swooping him a cool £135,000 for his three days work in Mexico. This has taken his LIV on-course earnings to £1.6million despite competing in just nine events.
This comes on top of the six-time major champion's reported £166million mega-money signing on fee, with the American no doubt reaping the financial reward for his Saudi switch.
It has not been all good for Mickelson post-defection though. Whilst his bank balance has trended upwards, his spot in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has collapsed in the other direction. This comes after the 54-time PGA Tour winner fell to a career low on Monday.
Following the weekly update of the ranking system, Mickelson fell outside the top 300 with 'Lefty' currently sat 318th in the world, and it has no sign of improving anytime soon. Mickelson is not the only LIV star to tumble down the rankings though.
This comes after the breakaway circuit continue to compete without OWGR recognition, meaning ranking points are not on offer to those who compete in LIV events. The Saudi-backed series have made a number of attempts to change that, but have so far failed.
Amid the lack of ranking recognition, a number of LIV members have been quick to criticise OWGR including Mickelson. The five-time major winner has predicted that another system could well be introduced to include those who are competing on the Saudi-funded series.
He told Sports Illustrated : "There will probably be another ranking system that is a more credible system as it includes all golfers in the world. This one has lost any credibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if tournaments stopped using it as a criteria for qualifying. “
