Phil Mickelson isn't exactly certain when he'll play next, but he has taken the procedural steps to give himself a trio of opportunities to play in May and June.
According to a statement through agent Steve Loy of SportFive, Mickelson has entered the PGA Championship in May. He will also play in consecutive weeks in back-to-back weeks in June, starting with the first LIV Golf Invitational event at Centurion Club in England and the US Open the following week at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Loy said Mickelson has not made final decisions on when and where he will play next.
"Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play," Loy said. "Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open."
Mickelson is, of course, the defending PGA champion, having become the oldest major champion in history in May 2021 on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. As a past (2005) PGA champion, Mickelson was already exempt into the event played this year at Southern Hills Golf Club in Tulsa, Okla.
With the 2021 PGA Championship win, Mickelson became exempt for the next five US Opens, beginning in 2021.
Mickelson applied for the LIV Golf Invitational kickoff event, played June 9-11. The event is said to offer a $25 million total purse, with $20 million as part of the individual competition. A first-place of $4 million will be awarded to the individual winner of the 54-hole event, which will be played at least in part as a shotgun start for the 48-player field.
This is the first indication of Phil Mickelson's 2022 schedule in more than two months.
Mickelson has not played competitive golf since finishing T-18 in February at the Saudi International, which is now the Asian Tour's flagship event and played in Saudi Arabia. Shortly after, Mickelson issued a lengthy apology after comments made to journalist Alan Shipnuck were made public ahead of a book Shipnuck has written about Mickelson. In those comments, Mickelson referred to the Saudi benefactors of the Greg Norman-led breakaway concept as "scary motherf***ers."
The left-handed golfer missed the Masters for the first time since 1994. Augusta National Golf Club said Mickelson was eligible to compete as a past Masters winner. The PGA Tour has not confirmed publicly if Mickelson has been suspended.
Most of Mickelson's sponsors have either outright dropped the six-time major winner or, in the case of Callaway Golf, paused their sponsorship with him. He has also been ousted as the host of the PGA Tour's The American Express.
