Phil Mickelson is missing The Open Championship this week at Royal Birkdale. He missed the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open. For the first time in his professional career, Mickelson will not appear in a single major in 2026.

Golf Channel writer Rex Hoggard appeared on Jim Rome's show on July 17 to address the question circling the sport.

Where does Mickelson go from here? Hoggard's answer was blunt.

"I don't know how he comes back from this. And there's a lot of litigation, and you really don't understand the full story yet," Hoggard told Rome in a clip posted by Rome on X. "Phil Mickelson has been pretty much banished to the badlands, for lack of a better term."

The "full story" he referenced is a Skratch investigation by writer Alan Shipnuck. He cited 19 sources and detailed allegations of misconduct toward women dating back to 2015, according to a report by Golfmagic

The report also revealed Mickelson had departed from or been removed from three Southern California golf clubs since 2021. His membership at The Farms Golf Club in San Diego County was terminated. It was following an alleged incident involving a female employee.

Mickelson's legal team has pushed back. Attorney Tom Clare told Golf Digest that "there is a great deal of misinformation circulating" and said Mickelson had retained defamation counsel. A spokesperson told Golf Digest he "continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf."

Hoggard also framed Mickelson's situation against Tiger Woods, two generational players now on very different paths. Woods remains part of the PGA Tour's decision-making body and was present at a recent announcement about the Tour's direction through 2028 and beyond, per the Jim Rome show on X. Mickelson, by contrast, has no such standing.

Phil Mickelson: A man without a country and nowhere left to play

The bigger problem for Mickelson may not be the allegations alone. It's the shrinking list of places he can compete.

According to Alan Shipnuck on The Rich Eisen Show, he could be suspended for one year if he returns to the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions. He joined LIV Golf in 2022, but the league's future is uncertain after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it will stop funding it after the 2026 season.

"If LIV Golf goes away next year, which is increasingly likely, Phil's a man without a country," Shipnuck said. "He has nowhere to play."

Mickelson has played competitively just once in 2026, at the LIV Golf event in South Africa in March. The 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale marks his first absence from The Open since 2009.

What do you think? Is this the end of Phil Mickelson's professional golf career? Let us know in the comments!

Follow Club Golf for more.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi