10 January 2024 , 21:15
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Phil Mickelson has claimed he is "too divisive" to captain the United States at the Ryder Cup thanks to his central role in the saga between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.
During his playing career, Mickelson emerged as one of Team USA's great Ryder Cup players, competing in 11 clashes against Team Europe, whilst acting as a vice-captain in one. The six-time major champion had been tipped to be a shoe-in to lead his nation in the event in the future, but the LIV star has now played down his chances.
Mickelson discussed the prospects of him taking on the captaincy role at a future Ryder Cup, but believes the hostilities caused between PGA Tour players and himself mean he is not the right man for the job.
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He told the Pat McAfee Show: "I’ve had 12, 13 opportunities to be a part of the Ryder Cup – 12 as a player, one as a vice captain – and I’ve loved every minute of it and cherished those moments and those life experiences. I don’t feel I’m the right guy to be involved with the team because I’m a very divisive character right now, if you will.
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"And I understand that the players on the PGA Tour, there’s a lot of hostilities toward me, and I don’t feel like I’d be the best leader for them going forward. I think that as the Ryder Cup captain, you have to be kind of a unifier and have these relationships solidified and be somebody that you want to follow, and right now, I’ve been very divisive."
He went on: "I’m OK with that, I knew that was going to be the case, I knew that it was going to take a couple of years and that I was going to take a lot of hits and a lot of divisiveness... As a divisive individual, I don’t think I’m the best unifier going forward for the Ryder Cup.
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"And that’s fine because I’ve had so many great memories with it; it’s time for other people to create their own memories.” Prior to the saga surrounding Mickelson's Saudi switch, it was expected that the American would take on captaincy duties for the 2025 event at Bethpage Black.
Recent events however appear to have taken Mickelson out of the running, with the latest front-runner Lefty's great rival Tiger Woods. The 15-time major winner was quizzed on whether he would be taking on the role next September, but talked down the idea amid the ongoing going on drama surrounding the PGA Tour and LIV.
"Right now there's too much at stake with our tour to think about a Ryder Cup right now," he said at last month's Hero World Challenge. "We have to get this done and we have to be focused on this right now. The Ryder Cup can take a [backseat], the players and everyone involved understands that this is an issue we need to focus on."