Oct 20, 2023; Doral, Florida, USA; Phil Mickelson plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports/ File photo
(Reuters) - Phil Mickelson has distanced himself from the prospect of captaining the U.S. team at the 2025 Ryder Cup as he says there is too much hostility towards him from PGA Tour players following his switch to the Saudi-backed LIV circuit.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson was heavily criticised after his side were beaten heavily by Europe last year. Changes are expected before the next Ryder Cup in 2025, which will be staged at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
Six-times major winner Mickelson, 53, played on every U.S. Ryder Cup team between 1995-2018 and was named vice-captain in 2021, but did not feature in 2023.
While he also knows the course well, having twice finished runner-up at the U.S. Open there, he said on the Pat McAfee Show this week that he did not feel he was the "right guy" to captain the side.
"I'm a very divisive character right now, if you will, and I understand that," he said on the Youtube sports talk show.
"The players on the PGA Tour, there's a lot of hostilities towards me, and I don't feel I'd be the best leader for them.
"I knew I was going to take some hits going forward, and I'm OK with that. And as a divisive individual, I don't think I'm the best unifier going forward for the Ryder Cup, and that's fine because I've had so many great memories with it."
Team Europe have already enlisted 2023 captain Luke Donald for their 2025 campaign. The Englishman is Europe's first repeat captain since Bernard Gallacher in 1991, 1993 and 1995.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
