Phil Mickelson will miss the 2025 LIV Golf League season-opening tournament in Saudi Arabia, citing a shoulder injury which will keep him out for at least the first of 14 events on the slate.
Posting to social media, Mickelson said, "While preparing for the season, I suffered a minor shoulder injury in the gym last week. I'm definitely disappointed that I will miss the season opener, but I look forward to playing in Adelaide. Ollie Schnierderjans (sic) will tee it up for me this week and I will be pulling for my teammates from home."
As Mickelson mentioned, Ollie Schniederjans, who won the Asian Tour's International Series India event on Sunday, will replace him on the HyFlyers team in the LIV Golf event that's to be played under the lights in Riyadh.
Mickelson is currently ranked 559th in the world, though that's in large part due to his schedule on LIV Golf not offering Official World Golf Ranking points.
In the 2024 LIV Golf season, Mickelson finished 46th in the standings, barely maintaining a spot in the top 48 -- what LIV Golf calls the Open Zone. Falling three spots further would have subjected Mickelson, like Range Goats captain Bubba Watson, to relegation from the league pending a business case to keep him on the HyFlyers.
Mickelson had one top-10 finish on LIV Golf in 2024, coming in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a T-6.
