Phil Mickelson 'Didn't Speak at All' at Masters Champions Dinner, Fuzzy Zoeller Says

The rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf doesn't appear to be a problem for players leading up to the Masters, but one prominent member of the LIV circuit avoided the spotlight during the annual champions dinner on Tuesday night.

Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979 Masters champion, told Doug Stutsman of the Augusta Chronicle that Phil Mickelson "sat near the end of the table" and "didn't speak at all."

This has become a common refrain from people on the scene in Georgia.

On Tuesday, Dylan Dethier of Golf.com noted Lefty "declined a full-on media center feeding-frenzy press conference" but he did give a couple of quick quotes in another area.

"When it came to tackling questions with more contentious subjects, on the other hand? Mickelson gave the impression he didn't want to say much of anything at all, like the filter between his brain and vocal cords was turned all the way up," Dethier wrote.

Mickelson is one of 18 LIV golfers taking part in this year's tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Six of those players have a lifetime exemption as former Masters champions, but the future of LIV golfers at this event beyond 2023 is up in the air because one way to qualify is finishing in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings the previous year.

As things currently stand, LIV golfers don't qualify for points in the official rankings.

Mickelson missed last year's Masters after taking a leave of absence following controversial comments about ignoring Saudi Arabia's history of human rights violations, including the government's alleged assassination of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, because the Saudi-backed tour was an opportunity to change how the PGA Tour operates.

Tommy Aaron told Stutsman he went up to Mickelson to wish him good luck, but the three-time Masters champion "took a very low profile."

Mickelson will be competing in his 30th Masters starting on Thursday. The 52-year-old has only played nine tournament rounds on the LIV circuit so far this year. His best finish was a tie for 27th at the LIV Golf Invitational Mayakoba in February.