Phil Mickelson 'Very Optimistic' About Golf's Future After PGA Tour, LIV Golf Deal

After the surprising alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Series was announced this month, one legendary golfer remained silent on the matter, until now.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson made his first public comments about the merger on Wednesday, saying he believes it will benefit the entire sport of golf.

"Going forward, we're all very optimistic about where the game of golf, professional golf specifically, is headed," Mickelson told reporters during a news conference ahead of this week's LIV Golf tournament in Spain. "Also, a lot of the changes that have been made because of LIV were all very [appreciated], both on the LIV Tour as well as the PGA Tour, and we're happy for the guys out there that they're having some positive changes there, as well."

Mickelson had declined to speak about the merger at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club earlier this month, saying he didn't want to distract from the major championship. The 53-year-old, who joined LIV Golf last year, faced criticism for comments he made discussing the Saudi Arabian monarchy's history of human rights abuse and disparaging the PGA Tour. Upon joining LIV Golf, he lost several of his longtime sponsors.

The PGA Tour is set to combine with the DP World Tour and LIV, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour will have controlling interest in the new company, but LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman reportedly has told his players that LIV will remain a standalone entity. Mickelson was non-committal when asked if he intends to return to the PGA Tour.

"Rather than saying yes or no, I know that from a player experience, all of the difficulties and challenges and things that take a lot of excessive energy and output throughout the week have been fixed at LIV," he said. "So the player experience here is incredible. I just can't envision a better scenario for me as a player than playing out here on LIV."