Jack Nicklaus Appears to Shade Phil Mickelson with LIV Golf Comments at 2025 Masters

While the rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has dissipated for the most part amid their continued merger negotiations, it's clear where the allegiances of golf legend Jack Nicklaus remain.

With the Masters teeing off Thursday, the six-time champion made a pointed remark about LIV at Phil Mickelson's expense.

"I don't know what level Phil's competing at," Nicklaus told reporters. "I guess he's still playing — he's playing the LIV tour, isn't he? I don't know if he's played or not. You don't know, you don't see it anymore."

Midway through its fourth season, LIV is still struggling to gain a foothold with an American audience. Many thought the breakaway circuit posed an existential threat to the PGA Tour when it first launched with limitless financial resources and a lot of big names. Instead, the exploits of LIV-aligned stars are going largely unnoticed.

Once the battle lines were drawn, Nicklaus was steadfast in his commitment to the PGA Tour. He said in 2022 he was offered $100 million by LIV's organizers to basically work in the CEO role Greg Norman occupied at the time.

Nicklaus went a step further in 2023 at the Memorial Tournament, which he hosts every year.

"I don't even consider those guys part of the game anymore," he said of LIV golfers. "I don't mean that in a nasty way. This is a PGA Tour event and we have the best field we can possibly have for a PGA Tour event for those who are eligible to be here. The other guys made a choice of what they did and where they've gone and we don't even talk about it."

The passage of time has obviously done nothing to change Nicklaus' mindset.