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US golfer Phil Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers today. In his lifetime, he is believed to have aced 47 hole-in-ones.
Mickelson is the captain of the HyFlyers GC in the Saudi-backed circuit. Recently, LIV Golf posted a video of him almost hitting a hole-in-one. Unfortunately, the ball hit the flagstick, preventing it from falling into the hole. If not for the flagstick, the shot would have been one for the history books.
This is not the first time, Phil Mickelson has had a problem with a flagstick getting in the way of his hole-in-one. He had found himself in a similar situation at the 2019 CJ Cup in South Korea. In the second round of the tournament, Lefty was teeing off at par-4.
His aim was the 353-yard 14th hole. Although he hit an incredible drive, he lost his balance a little. The ball fell a few meters away from the hole and just as it started rolling down, it hit the flagstick and diverted its direction.
Fast forwarding a couple of years to 2024, Phil Mickelson has not had a great competitive season and is currently in the Open Zone of LIV Golf's third edition. This group of players is vulnerable to relegation from the tour. However, a loophole in the rules might just save him if he were to be relegated.
Why can't Phil Mickelson be relegated from LIV Golf?
US golfer Phil Mickelson is one of the top stars in the LIV Golf roster. Amongst the strongest voices of support for the tour, he was one of the first golfers to switch from the PGA Tour in 2022. He had a whopping $100 million signing amount, which was one of the largest sums ever to be given to a player back then.
He has been captaining the HyFlyers GC ever since. However, his performance in 2024 has been poor. He is currently scraping the bottom-of-the-barrel ranked 44th in the tour. According to LIV Golf, relegation rules players ranked below 49th after the Individual Championship are eliminated from the tour with an opportunity to earn their way back through the LIV Golf Promotions tournament.
So, Mickelson is sitting in the Open Zone at the moment, which is a group of golfers at risk of getting evicted. However, a loophole in the rules would save him from a possible relegation, if it happens. Since he is the captain of a group, he is exempted from an ouster.
Henrik Stenson (41st) and Bubba Watson (52nd) too are protected from expulsion thanks to their status as captains of Majesticks GC and RangeGoats GC, respectively. In 2023, this loophole came to the advantage of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. Another player who is in the Drop Zone but won't be knocked out is Anthony Kim as he is a wild card player. According to the rules, wild card golfers are also exempt from relegation. He is currently ranked 56th out of 57 players.
The LIV Golf Individual Championship will take place on 13-15 September 2024 at the Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago, Illinois. The final relegation will be decided after this event.
