Phil Mickelson Declined to Speak at Masters Press Conferences

The three-time Masters champion was absent from the Augusta National press conference schedule by choice.

When the Masters pre-tournament press conference schedule was released last week, fans immediately noticed that except for Cameron Smith, the 2022 British Open champion, LIV golfers were not represented in the lineup. Phil Mickelson in particular—a three-time Masters champion—was noticeably absent from that list. 

According Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner, Mickelson was indeed offered the opportunity to speak in front of the media at Augusta National, but declined the invitation. Mickelson’s decision was confirmed by Sports Illustrated. 

“Smith was in good spirits today, he was also a good sport, not only as the only LIV player to do a full sit-down session with the media—Phil, we were told, declined the invitation—but Smith also did four additional one-on-one interviews with outlets, from Sky to ESPN,” Lerner said on Live From the Masters on Monday evening. 

Mickelson is playing the Masters for the 30th time this year. Last year, Mickelson did not tee it up at Augusta National, as he was in the midst of a hiatus from professional golf—a break sparked by his involvement with the Saudi-backed breakaway tour. Eventually, Mickelson was suspended from the PGA Tour for joining LIV. 

Mickelson is the captain of the HyFlyers GC on the second-year tour. To date, the 2021 PGA champion has dropped to 425th in the Official World Golf Ranking. So far this season, Mickelson has yet to crack the top 25 in a LIV event.