Phil Mickelson releases statement after WD'ing from LIV Golf's 2025 curtain-raiser
Phil Mickelson has confirmed that he will not be playing the first LIV Golf League event of the 2025 season after suffering a shoulder injury.
Phil Mickelson has been forced to withdraw from the first LIV Golf event of 2025 after sustaining an injury.
Mickelson confirmed on 3 February that he hurt his shoulder in the gym last week.
The six-time major champion was due to play his first event of the year with the breakaway tour this week.
Fortunately for Mickelson the damage doesn't seem too bad and he is expected to play in Australia later this month.
"While preparing for the season, I suffered a minor shoulder injury in the gym last week," Mickelson said in a statement posted on X.
"I'm definitely disappointed that I will miss the season opener, but I took forward to playing in Adelaide."
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 3, 2025
LIV Golf Riyadh will be played under the lights over 6-8 February.
The tournament is being played at night to try and tempt U.S. viewers to watch on Fox.
Mickelson has been replaced in the field by Ollie Schnierderjans.
Schnierderjans was named as a LIV Golf reserve after he came up short of securing a full-time spot on the PIF-backed league in their Promotions event last December.
The American - a former World No.1 amateur - is in good form having won the first International Series event on the Asian Tour last week.
Schnierderjans beat a field that included Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann.
BTS w/ the @RangeGoatsGC under the lights in Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/0XjuJ0zHAo
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 2, 2025
Mickelson joined LIV Golf for a reported $200m in 2022. Results since he joined have been mixed.
Last season, he posted just one top-10 finish in a LIV event.
He has played in 10 major championships since the lucrative switch, missing six cuts.
His best performance in that period came when he finished in a tie for second at the 2023 Masters.
Mickelson has already claimed that he believes his form will be much improved this season.
Elsewhere, Tom McKibbin will make his debut.
McKibbin officially joined Jon Rahm's Legion XIII quartet last week.
It is understood the golfer - who has been mentored by Rory McIlroy and was advised against the switch - has signed a two-year deal with LIV thought to be worth $5m.
Scroll down to see the LIV Golf team rosters for 2025...
Jon Rahm (c) |
Tyrrell Hatton |
Caleb Surratt |
Tom McKibbin |
Cameron Smith (c) |
Marc Leishman |
Matt Jones |
Lucas Herbert |
Joaquin Niemann (c) |
Carlos Ortiz |
Mito Pereira |
| Sebastian Munoz |
Ben Campbell |
Matthew Wolff |
Peter Uihlein |
Bubba Watson (c) |
Dustin Johnson (c) |
Thomas Pieters |
Patrick Reed |
Harold Varner III |
Brooks Koepka (c) |
Jason Kokrak |
Talor Gooch |
Graeme McDowell |
Louis Oosthuizen (c) |
Charl Schwartzel |
Dean Burmester |
Branden Grace |
Phil Mickelson (c) |
Brendan Steele |
Cameron Tringale |
Andy Ogletree |
Kevin Na (c) |
Yubin Jang |
Danny Lee |
Jinchiro Kozuma |
Bryson DeChambeau (c) |
Paul Casey |
Charles Howell III |
Anirban Lahiri |
Lee Westwood (c) |
Ian Poulter (c) |
Henrik Stenson (c) |
Sam Horsfield |
Sergio Garcia (c) |
Abraham Ancer |
David Puig |
Luis Masaveu |
Martin Kaymer (c) |
Richard Bland |
Adrian Meronk |
Frederik Kjettrup |
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