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Phil Mickelson on potential Ryder Cup captaincy: 'My Ryder Cup involvement is over'

As the United States limps to another forgettable loss in the Ryder Cup — presumably now nine of the last 12 as they head into Sunday's singles play facing a massive deficit — the chatter has already shifted to what's next, as in who should be tagged as the next captain to right the sinking American ship?

The quick and obvious names that come to mind are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. But Sunday morning, Mickelson poured some cold water on his potential inclusion.

No American has scored more points in Ryder Cup play than Mickelson's 21.5. And no player in history has played more Ryder Cup matches than Mickelson's 47. He was a part of 12 U.S. teams, compiling an 18-22-7 record.

Had he not made the jump to LIV Golf a few years ago, Mickelson's progression to Ryder Cup captain would have been a given, probably even this year at Bethpage Black in lieu of Keegan Bradley. But Mickelson did make the jump, and that complicates everything.

He, more than any other player who took the money and ran to LIV, is viewed as the catalyst that's driven a wedge within the golf world. Without hesitation, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have been welcomed back on the European team, as has Bryson DeChambeau on the U.S. squad. But Mickelson? Anymore, when he does show up at a regular tour event — basically The Masters — he walks about as anonymous as a player fighting to maintain his Tour card.

It's quite the turn for a player who was once golf's man of the people.

Nearly 25 years ago, when Bethpage Black introduced itself to the golf world at the 2002 U.S. Open, it was Mickelson, not Woods, who was the crowd favorite. Woods would go on to win, but it was Mickelson who won New Yorker's hearts.

Now, fair or not, he's persona non grata in the "traditional" golf world, and he knows it.

“I don’t feel I’m the right guy to be involved with the team because I’m a very divisive character right now, if you will, and I understand that,” Mickelson told Pat McAfee some 22 months ago.

Clearly, the cold war that has emerged in golf between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has not thawed much since he said that in January, 2024. And if you believe what Mickelson said Sunday, it never will — at least at it pertains to the Ryder Cup.

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