The subtle way the PGA Tour’s ‘Brooks Koepka’ reinstatement policy leaves Phil Mickelson out in the cold
Cliff Hawkins
By now, you’ve heard the news shouted from every rooftop in Ponte Vedra Beach and beyond: Brooks Koepka, following his shock exit from LIV Golf, has, even more shockingly, been reinstated as a member of the PGA Tour, effective immediately. Koepka’s return was announced Monday as part of a new policy that will allow major championship and Players winners between 2022 and 2025 to rejoin the PGA Tour provided they meet the given criteria. Koepka has reportedly committed to playing the Farmers Insurance Open, the WM Phoenix Open and a total of least 15 PGA Tour events this season.
The announcement is potentially seismic for professional golf. It opens the door for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith to return the PGA Tour as early as this season (the reinstatement window is said to close February 2nd) and could shift the balance of power in golf’s ongoing tug-of-war insurmountably in the tour’s favor. As popular X golf user Rick Golfs points out, there is one VERY big name the policy leaves out in the cold, however:
Phil Mickelson.
Something or nothing? On one hand, Mickelson was one of the first big names to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and did so loudly. While players like Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Rahm were up front about leaving for financial and family reasons, Mickelson cited his grievances with the PGA Tour as a contributing factor, publicly calling out the tour's “obnoxious greed." Even if that very public breakup has nothing to do with the reinstatement policy announced on Monday, it's worth noting that Mickelson would be eligible to return if the policy extended back just 12 months to accommodate his 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. The fact that it doesn't is, at the very least, notable.
On the other hand, LIV Golf’s first season began in June of 2022, which may be the reason for the timeline laid out by the PGA Tour on Monday. The curious case of Johnson also provides an interesting rebuttal. Like Mickelson, Johnson was once one of the PGA Tour's biggest stars, and he won his last major in November of 2020. Unlike Mickelson, however, when Johnson left the PGA Tour, he didn’t lash out at leadership or beat the “grow the game” drum. In typical DJ fashion, he just did it, arguably creating less of a stir than Koepka, DeChambeau, Smith or Rahm. Despite that, Johnson is also ineligible for reinstatement under the tour’s new policy, suggesting there isn't some sort of Phil-specific agenda at work.
No matter what you think about the specific conditions of PGA Tour reinstatement or the reasoning behind them, the fact is Mickelson will not be afforded a victory lap under the current rules. From a golf perspective, that may not matter. Mickelson is 55 now and his best playing days are behind him. However, for Lefty’s many fans hoping to one day see him back on the tour where he became a legend, it's surely disappointing. But who knows; maybe another whip-smart, bomb-hitting ASU alum will be back to fill those shoes sooner than later …