LIV Golf find themselves in need of a lift after a slow start to the offseason.
The league, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, hasn’t managed to bring in any big names so far. Talks with Si Woo Kim broke down, and as things stand, Laurie Canter and Victor Perez are the most notable additions for 2026.
To make matters worse, Brooks Koepka left LIV to rejoin the PGA Tour, becoming the first high-profile player to make that move. It’s another setback following a tough 2025 as they continue their struggle against the tour.
However, Phil Mickelson believes help is coming. During a recent LIV Golf press conference, he suggested that HyFlyers GC could be adding a new player soon.
Phil Mickelson looking forward to HyFlyers’ fresh start
HyFlyers, led by Mickelson, had a tough 2025 season, finishing fifth in the team standings and managing just one top-three finish.
But the six-time major champion says his team will be getting a much-needed injection of youth ahead of 2026. Speaking to reporters, he said: “We have a player that we’ll announce here shortly. I’m very excited.”
“We needed this energy. We needed this youthfulness. I’m 55; I needed to get a younger team. [Brendan Steele] is 42, [Cameron Tringale] is late 30s. We’re going to start evolving younger and getting a fresh energy. I’m very excited.”
There’s plenty of promising young talent coming up on the PGA Tour in 2026, so LIV could grab some headlines by adding someone like Marco Penge or Neal Shipley to Mickelson’s squad.
Mickelson also explained why he believes LIV offers an ideal environment for young players to develop their skills.
LIV Golf a great learning ground for young players, says Mickelson
After LIV failed to bring in any big names from the PGA Tour this offseason, shifting focus to developing their own talent could be the right move. And according to Mickelson, learning from veterans like Jon Rahm and himself gives young players a real edge.
This is where LIV has an advantage over the PGA Tour. Their younger players have teammates they can turn to, and it’s in the interest of experienced names like Mickelson to share what they’ve learned over their careers.
Mickelson explained why he thinks LIV is the perfect environment for young stars:
“The reason I’m saying this is it doesn’t matter my age. It doesn’t matter Jon Rahm’s age. He’s 20-something years younger than me, but he has so much knowledge that he’s acquired that he’s openly sharing with his teammates because we’re all invested in that.”
“I’m going to try to help the guys on our team and younger players become their best selves and share the knowledge that I learned over the years from others, and try to help to develop them faster, to achieve their goals quicker. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing as their teammate or if I’m taking on just a captain’s role.
“But right now, I’m starting to play – I’m playing pretty good golf. I had a good year last year, the first half especially, and had opportunities to win, and it really gets me motivated to keep going to work harder.
“Now, it is harder for me. I’ve got to work a lot harder on my body to be able to swing the club the way I want,” Mickelson said.”But I enjoy the challenge andI will continue to work with young players just like Jon Rahm has helped those two players, Caleb and Tom,and just like Sergio has helped Josele, Luisand David develop quicker. I’ll do the same in any way thatI can.”
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