Phil Mickelson: TGL 'could really be good for the game'

Despite a history of acrimony between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, one of the original defectors to the rival league made supportive comments at the conclusion of the inaugural TGL season on Tuesday night.

Phil Mickelson, who left the PGA Tour in June 2022 for upstart LIV Golf, responded to a post on X praising TGL, an indoor simulator golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that also features other PGA Tour stars.

"That's great news! It would be great for golf if this were to succeed," Mickelson wrote. "The golf fan is the most loyal fan in sports.

"Buy a ticket, walk miles and see a fraction of the action," he continued, "but this could allow the golf fan to buy a ticket, sit down and watch 100 (per cent) of the action just like other sports. It could really be good for the game if it's compelling."

Atlanta Drive GC won the first TGL championship, 4-3 over New York Golf Club on Tuesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The winners – Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay – split a purse of $9 million, with New York receiving half that amount.

Atlanta won the first match of the best-of-three series on Monday, which left the New York team of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young needing to sweep both scheduled matches on Tuesday.

Mickelson, 54, won 45 PGA Tour events, including six major titles, en route to a World Golf Hall of Fame career. His exit for LIV Golf, bankrolled by Saudia Arabia's Public Investment Fund, as well as the defection of other stars, including Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, put Mickelson in opposition to his former tour and its players.

The PGA Tour and PIF have been in deliberations since coming to a "framework agreement" in June 2023 to merge assets and coexist.