US Open golf: First major after LIV Golf-PGA merger a ‘weird’ experience for golfers, fans

As golf continues to deal with the fallout of the sudden merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the first major since the partnership was unveiled has been labelled “golf but weirder”. RICK BROADBENT explains why.

Fans watch as Hideki Matsuyama putt for par. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

This is an odd US Open.

Low scores and high-rises, fewer fans but one in a sombrero and a fake moustache heckling Phil Mickelson for what he felt were the twin ills of Saudi Arabia and a lingerie chain.

“Golf but louder” is LIV Golf’s slogan.

This is golf but weirder.

In his time, Mickelson has been one of the most attention-grabbing golfers on the planet. From the geometrical genius of the recovery shots to the bricklike subtlety of his barbs, he has demanded you watch and listen.

Not on Friday, though.

Phil Mickelson on course at the US Open. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.

Mickelson’s ninth attempt to complete the career grand slam by winning the US Open fizzled out early on his 53rd birthday after a round of 74.

Of course, it was always an almost interminably long shot and even the inveterate gambler would have not backed himself.

So a few fans followed him around the morning after a man had been ejected for an odd rant referencing sporting geopolitics and nine-inch heels.

Six times a runner-up, but Mickelson can still produce some magic.

Had he pulled off his final-day charge at the Masters, Middle America would have had street parties.

And, lest we forget, he did win a major in 2021, the oldest man to do so. He played a lovely shot on to the final green on Friday, but could not make the putt. Not enough. He was left facing an early exit at three over par.

Golfing pundits believe Phil Mickelson’s “reputation has changed”. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Watching him on the North Course, it was hard not to conclude that he is not only thinner these days but in some way diminished.

The swagger is gone. There are few thumbs-ups to fawning galleries.

No longer does he need to spend hours signing autographs.

When NBC’s Dan Hicks opined that Mickelson “has always been one of the most popular players in the world”, co-pundit Paul Azinger replied: “That’s not the case any more for Phil. His whole reputation has changed.”

Fans watch on from above to 10th green. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images.

He had not spoken about the deal between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund this week, saying he wanted to concentrate on the US Open, but in one sense Mickelson can be regarded as the big winner from the agreement. He has helped bring about seismic change to the PGA Tour, his stated aim, and he has got richer, despite calling his paymasters “scary motherf***ers”.

On the course he has done well to last this long.

It is almost a decade since Rory McIlroy prematurely suggested Mickelson and Tiger Woods were on “the last few holes of their career”.

As it turned out both have won majors more recently than McIlroy.

Mickelson can at least say that he endured longer than Woods, who looks done as a major contender after his latest injuries.

To underline that assessment, an R&A spokesman said on Friday that Woods would not be playing at the Open Championship next month after undergoing surgery on his ankle after the Masters.

Rory McIlroy has a vocal opponent of LIV Golf.

Like Mickelson, McIlroy has also been opting for a quiet path this week.

He skipped his pre-tournament press conference, a rarity for him, and instead got down to working out the nuances of this unusual setting. On Thursday he seemed to have mastered it, only to swipe under the ball in the thick stuff by the 18th green.

A fresh-air stroke left a whiff of despair. The question hanging in the air was how costly might that become by Sunday evening.

Golf is more unpredictable than almost any sport.

It is not just about being fastest, strongest or richest. The field of play is an undulating minefield, the weather plays its part and every shot is a potential failure.

Add extra layers such as a nine-year major drought and the effects of a two-year struggle between a Gulf state and the place you play, and watching McIlroy is enduringly fascinating.

Thursday’s 65 was hugely impressive, but could he do it again?

He has been trying to get used to winning without his A-game. That means hanging on.

Many struggle to understand how someone with such a pure swing and natural gifts has not added to his four majors, but Bob Rotella, his psychologist, nailed it.

“Everyone wanted to swing like Tiger when they should have been wanting to get the ball in the hole like Tiger.”

In other words, you need to have grit and will and the ability to keep going if you’re A-game is AWOL.

Wyndham Clark launches an iron forward. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Starting only three off the lead, McIlroy gave up a birdie chance on his first hole, the 10th. North Course novelties range from the setting in the midst of a concrete metropolis to the 297-yard par-three 11th.

It is so long that when McIlroy found the thick rough on the cusp of a greenside bunker, the group ahead of him were still to finish the hole.

He played that shot well but still had a bogey.

Then he rolled in a 30-foot birdie on the 12th.

It was a familiar round of ebb and flow.

After the turn he made two birdies in three holes which got him back to where he had started from. And then he dropped one and gained two.

He was three of the leader at the time, Wyndham Clark, and fighting tooth and nail.

The USGA had promised they would not make life “stupid hard”, but it was certainly harder for some.

Dustin Johnson started at six under but it took him six shots to make the 2nd green. That eight might have had others imploding but Johnson’s gift is not to overthink golf. He finished at five under par and is still in the mix.

Originally published as US Open golf: First major after LIV Golf-PGA merger a ‘weird’ experience for golfers, fans