Tiger Woods orchestrated Phil Mickelson’s British Open dinner snub

Golf

By Christian Arnold

At the height of the rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, the battle between the two leagues felt more like the equivalent of the war between WCW and the WWE in the 1990s, and at other times, it mirrored a high school spat. 

When it comes to how Tiger Woods had Phil Mickelson snubbed from a private dinner during the week of the 150th Open Championship in 2022, it certainly seemed more like the latter. 

According to an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck’s upcoming book “LIV and Let Die,” Woods had Mickelson kept out of a private dinner for Open winners held at the R&A clubhouse. 

The Open was taking place shortly after LIV Golf had launched its first event in June 2022, and tensions were high between golfers from the Saudi-backed league and those who remained loyal to the PGA Tour. 

Woods, according to Shipnuuck, took it upon himself to have the defector kept out of the gathering. 

“He talked to a handful of other [past champions] to get their blessing and then went to the R&A and told them, basically, no one wanted Phil there and it would make the night weird and awkward,” one man at the dinner said. “Whose side were they going to take,Tiger’s or Phil’s? That’s an easy choice.”

Mickelson had told reporters last year that the R&A advised him not to partake in activities for past champions during tournament week. 

He didn’t mention any pressure being put on the R&A to keep him away from events. 

“The R&A contacted me a couple weeks before and said, ‘Look, we don’t think it’s a great idea you go, but if you want to, you can,’’’ Mickelson said to reporters at the time. “I just didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I said, ‘Fine.’ We both kind of agreed that it would be best if I didn’t.’’

Things have certainly shifted quite a bit in the golf world since then. 

LIV Golf and the PGA Tour announced a merger in June that stunned the sports world.

The situation remains fluid, as the deal has faced scrutiny from regulators, and other bidders have emerged for the PGA.