13 May 2023 , 18:22
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Phil Mickelson has called for his LIV Golf teammate Cameron Tringale to earn a spot at the PGA Championship, with the second major of the season taking place at Oak Hill next week.
Mickelson himself will be out competing at the New York course, as he qualifies as a past champion having become the oldest major winner in golf history when clinching the 2021 PGA Championship. A whole host of other LIV stars have received invites, with 18 from the rebel circuit in the field.
One man who is yet to be included though is Mickelson's HyFlyers teammate Tringale, an omission the 52-year-old is clearly in disagreement with.
Taking to Twitter to argue Tringale's case, Mickelson wrote: "Cameron Tringale is not only my teammate, he’s one of the best putters in the game, has a short game I can’t beat, worked hard in the off season and gained 6-8 mph’s with the driver, and is ready to take his game to new levels.
"I hope he gets in next week. He deserves it." This is not the first time Mickelson has spoken out on the inclusion (or lack of) of LIV Golf players in major fields, having recently hit out at the USGA for changing their US Open qualifying criteria, which saw fellow rebel Talor Gooch miss out.
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Cameron Tringale is not in the PGA Championship field (Getty Images)Accusing the USGA of 'colluding' with LIV Golf's arch rivals the PGA Tour, he posted earlier this month: "Mike Whan recently changed the wording from “qualified” for the Tour championship to “eligible.” Thereby taking away Gooch’s exemption since he wasn’t eligible to play even though he had qualified.
"This doesn’t make the US Open better in any way but does help collude with the Tour." Prior to his call for Tringale's inclusion, Mickelson also pointed the finger at PGA Championship officials, who he also accused of working with the PGA Tour to snub LIV players.
Phil Mickelson is not one for holding back on social media (AP)"PGA uses OWGR [Official World Golf Rankings] to get in," he posted. "#103 Tringale #111 Munoz #110 Kokrak OUT. #128 Hossler IN. Colluding with [the] Tour against LIV. 3 years from now who is most likely to still be here? [PGA Tour commissioner, Jay] Monahan or LIV? We won't forget. You too [USGA CEO, Mike] Whan."
Quickly after though the usually brazen Mickelson deleted his tweet after seemingly noticing a glaring mistake. This comes after PGA Championship organisers use their own points system to determine qualifiers, rather than world rankings like the six-time major champion suggested.