‘Phil Mickelson phoned me to join LIV Golf from PGA Tour – this is what I did’

Brendan Steele has recalled receiving a phone call from Phil Mickelson asking him to part ways with the PGA Tour in favour of the newer LIV Golf set-up, explaining exactly what he told his fellow pro

Brendan Steele has said that he didn’t take much convincing to ditch the PGA Tour to play under the LIV Golf banner.

The 41-year-old made his debut on the PGA Tour back in 2011, enjoying just three wins with the set-up before he decided to make the move to LIV last February, teaming up with golfing legend Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC. He joined a long list of former PGA pros who have defected to the newer, Saudi-backed league, including the likes of Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood and Dustin Johnson to name a few.

While many golfing purists have been incredibly open about their distaste for the promotion since its inception, there’s no denying that it has managed to recruit some of the world’s finest talents from the fierce grip of the PGA Tour. And it turns out that Steele didn’t need too much in terms of persuasion to join LIV Golf last year, explaining that a simple phone call with Mickelson did the trick.

Appearing on the Fairway To Heaven podcast alongside Jerry Foltz and Su-Ann Heng, Steele was asked what was the one thing that made him jump ship. To which, the HyFlyers star said: “So if I was ever going to come, it was always going to be with Phil and with Cameron [Tringale] – because Cameron has been a close friend of mine for a long time too.

“So we had been playing some golf together – the three of us – and Cameron had asked me, ‘would you ever come?’ And I’m like, ‘if I was going to, it would be with you guys, so if there was ever an opportunity, I’d love to know about it’.

“And Phil called and he just said, ‘look, I wanted to run something by you before I went any different direction, I wasn’t sure if you would be interested or whatever’. We just talked it out and I thought this is too good an opportunity to pass up as far as picking Phil’s brain, travelling the world, having a team – you know, like everything that lined up was like this is a perfect opportunity, I can’t pass on it.

“And then there’s still nerves and things you know, because I don’t know what it’s like out there. I haven’t played a LIV event, I haven’t seen one – so I get to Mayakoba last year and I’m pretty nervous, and I’m pretty worried about what it’s all going to be like and everything, and I got comfortable really fast.”

Despite its criticisms from PGA Tour purists, Steele also went on to say that the LIV set-up was incredibly welcoming and everything he could have hoped for. He added: “And everything was way better than I could have hoped for, more enjoyable and friendlier, and everybody that I saw was just so welcoming and there were a bunch of people – other than players – that I already knew out there.”

He continued: “So many familiar faces and it was really easy to settle in. The opportunity to pay with Phil is too good to pass on, and Cameron being one of my best friends it was an easy choice.”

A force to be reckoned with on his day, Mickelson was one of the PGA Tour’s earliest defectors to LIV Golf. He joined the promotion back in 2022 with 45 PGA Tour wins and six major championships to his name.

Steele has already reaped success under the LIV Golf banner this year, beating Louis Oosthuizen by a single stroke to win at LIV Golf Adelaide in the league this April.