{"id":409519,"date":"2026-01-13T04:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409519\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T04:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:46:12","slug":"after-phil-mickelsons-approval-pro-reportedly-ditches-pga-tour-for-liv-golf-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409519\/","title":{"rendered":"After Phil Mickelson\u2019s Approval, Pro Reportedly Ditches PGA Tour for LIV Golf Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a while,Byeong Hun An was the target of LIV under its new Korean-based franchise, Becko East GC. Although the rumors died down, the recent sightings have flipped this narrative, and for that, Phil Mickelson<\/a> seems to be excited.<\/p>\n

As per Josh A. Carpenter\u2019s original post, Hun An was \u201cspotted\u201d at LIV\u2019s preview week in South Florida on January 12. This is a complete shift from what the golf world has known so far. Both Si Woo Kim and Ben An were offered a massive 8-figure deal to join LIV. However, they \u2018reportedly\u2019 rejected the lucrative offer. LIV then doubled down on its money and expanded the figure. Well, did this renew Hun An\u2019s interest, or was it Lefty\u2019s excitement?<\/p>\n

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Flushing It, in late December, shared that Byeong An and Si Woo Kim are still major targets for LIV Golf ahead of the first event in Riyadh from February 4 to 7. To this news, Mickelson responded, \u201cThat would be awesome,\u201d with a shocked-face emoji.<\/p>\n

Mickelson\u2019s endorsement probably made the LIV deal more notable. He is one of LIV\u2019s most vocal ambassadors, and his recent public backing of players includes Jackson Koivun<\/a>. Although the young star hasn\u2019t joined LIV nor expressed any interest in doing so, he has rejected a PGA Tour card.<\/p>\n

For us, Ben An\u2019s spotting does not necessarily come as a surprise. While Kim publicly rejected LIV Golf\u2019s offer by committing to the Sony Open<\/a>, An gave no such official statements, making it look like he never considered rejection as an option.<\/p>\n

Many might also wonder if An\u2019s profile would give LIV the backing it needs after Brooks Koepka\u2019s exit and instant reinstatement<\/a> to the PGA Tour. Inarguably, the two profiles are far from comparable, but this doesn\u2019t mean An is any less credible.<\/p>\n

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The 34-year-old burst onto the global stage at the age of 17 when he won the 2009 US Amateur\u2014the youngest winner in the tournament\u2019s history (Tiger Woods<\/a> was 18 when he won this event). He also had a breakthrough victory at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship. His last win came two years ago at the 2024 Genesis Championship. Overall, he has played in eight PGA seasons and represented the International Team at the Presidents Cup.<\/p>\n

At the same time, what makes his speculated addition to LIV more interesting is his views on the league itself. Back in June 2023, when the merger talks were at their peak, An took to social media and called the entire situation a \u201cwin-win\u201d for both tours. This backing came amidst harsh scrutiny from other PGA Tour players, who were upset with the opacity of the entire deal.<\/p>\n

So, as said, in hindsight, if An does end up joining LIV, it wouldn\u2019t be too surprising. And LIV too would possibly urge the golfer to do the same, as it has been doing so far with several other Korean players.<\/p>\n

LIV Golf is aiming to expand to Asian markets<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that LIV has been struggling massively on the money front. Losses are being incurred every day<\/a>, and the only way it has continued to survive is due to the funding from PIF. Take that away, and it wouldn\u2019t take a day for LIV to collapse. This could be the very reason Brooks Koepka andPat Perez decided to leave the league entirely.<\/a><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s why LIV is planning its Korean strategy here. CEO Scott O\u2019Neil has time and again expressed the league\u2019s desire to prioritize international expansion, with a special focus on Asia. For this very reason, it staged its inaugural South Korean event at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club near Seoul. All this is done because Korea has a huge market for golf. Marquee players have come out of it, and their fan bases are large. Si Woo Kim was one such accomplished golfer.<\/p>\n

Ironheads GC, the previous name of Becko East GC, had a disappointing 2025. It finished last in LIV\u2019s ranks. Maybe this is why Kevin Na is thinking of leaving, too?<\/a> And the 2024 Korea PGA Player of the Year, Jang Yu-bin was relegated from LIV after securing 52nd in the standings.<\/p>\n

As a part of LIV\u2019s expansion strategy, there were also reports of Sungjae Im getting an offer from LIV, but he denied the rumors, calling it \u201cFAKE NEWS.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

For the appeasement of its Korean\/Asian audience, LIV needed a brand and a few names to make that brand! When, and who it will get, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

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The post After Phil Mickelson\u2019s Approval, Pro Reportedly Ditches PGA Tour for LIV Golf Contract<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a while,Byeong Hun An was the target of LIV under its new Korean-based franchise, Becko East GC.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,73434,755,6410,1747,1205,181497,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-409519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-brooks-koepka","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-liv","13":"tag-pga-tour","14":"tag-phil-mickelson","15":"tag-si-woo-kim","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}