Phil Mickelson labelled himself a ‘very divisive character’ and said he shouldn’t captain America at a Ryder Cup.
Despite representing the USA 12 times, not to mention winning six majors, Mickelson doesn’t believe it would be right for him to lead his country against Europe.
Intense scrutiny surrounded Mickelson’s move to LIV Golf, so much so that he took a four-month break from the game in 2022 before playing LIV’s inaugural event in the June.
The 53-year-old was suspended from the PGA Tour for his role in LIV Golf’s uprising, and he says there is too much hostility towards him to don the red, white and blue again.
“I don’t feel I’m the right guy to be involved with the team,” he told The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
“I’m a very divisive character right now, if you will, and I understand that.
“The players on the PGA Tour, there’s a lot of hostilities towards me, and I don’t feel I’d be the best leader for them.
“I knew I was going to take some hits going forward, and I’m OK with that.
“And as a divisive individual. I don’t think I’m the best unifier going forward for the Ryder Cup, and that’s fine because I’ve had so many great memories with it.”
Mickelson was part of three winning Ryder Cup teams, including America’s famous comeback victory at Brookline in 1999.
He also served as a vice-captain in 2021 when his team beat Europe 19-9 under the stewardship of Steve Stricker.
Phil Mickelson: Ryder Cup captaincy out of the window, but who will be next?
2025 and Bethpage were the time and place for the much-anticipated Ryder Cup between Phil Mickelson’s USA and Ian Poulter’s Europe.
Two characters leading in a cauldron full of passionate New York golf fans was the dream, but now it seems that is all it will be.
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Poulter resigned his DP World Tour membership last year and with his LIV teammate Henrik Stenson being removed as Europe’s captain too, all the signs suggest the 45th Ryder Cup won’t be the spectacle many fans had envisaged.
Nonetheless, Team Europe has appointed Luke Donald for a second consecutive time, hoping to build on his side’s victory at Marco Simone in 2023.
His US counterpart is yet to be named, with the likes of Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink and Fred Couples surely on the candidate list to take Zach Johnson’s place.
“There’s too much at stake with our tour to think about the Ryder Cup right now,” Woods said when asked about the Ryder Cup captaincy at the 2023 Hero World Challenge.
“We have to get this done and we have to be focused on this right now (the framework agreement).”
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