Phil Mickelson Withdraws from the Masters, Making It the First Year Since 1994 Without Him or Tiger Woods in the Field

Three-time champion Phil Mickelson has announced his withdrawal from The Masters, citing a family health issue that has kept him from participating in all but one of the five LIV Golf events this year.

“Regrettably, I will be unable to compete in the Masters Tournament next week and will be absent for an extended period as my family addresses a personal health concern,” Mickelson shared on social media.

This week, Tiger Woods also confirmed he is taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment following his arrest for suspected DUI after a car accident near his Florida residence.

This marks the first occasion since 1994 that neither Woods nor Mickelson will participate in the Masters, a year when Woods was finishing his high school senior year and Mickelson had sustained a leg injury while skiing.

During the 1994 Masters, Bernhard Langer was the defending champion, Greg Norman held the world No.1 ranking, Rory McIlroy was merely four years old, and current world No.1 Scottie Scheffler had yet to be born. José María Olazábal clinched his first green jacket, winning by two strokes over Tom Lehman.

Mickelson has referred to the Masters as “undoubtedly the most special week of the year.” His performance at Augusta National supports this claim, with his maiden major victory occurring there in 2004— the last time the tournament was decided by a birdie putt on the final hole for a one-shot win.

He added further victories in 2006 and 2010, making him one of only eight players to have won the Masters at least three times.

Mickelson and Woods were paired during the last round of the 2009 Masters, where both started the day seven shots behind the leader. However, Mickelson’s stellar six-under front nine thrust him into contention, although a double bogey on the par-3 12th derailed his chances, ultimately finishing in a tie for fifth, three strokes off the lead. Woods finished a shot further back.

Woods, as the defending champion from 2005, also had the honour of presenting Mickelson with his second green jacket in 2006.

While Mickelson has not disclosed specific details regarding the family health issue, he had previously missed LIV’s first four events of the year and made his comeback in South Africa two weeks ago, where he tied for 48th in a field of 57 players.

“It’s just great to be back playing,” he expressed during his return in South Africa.

The only other year Mickelson missed the Masters was in 2022, when he took a leave of absence following controversial remarks he made while LIV Golf was preparing to launch.

At the time, he accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” during an interview with Golf Digest. In comments with author Alan Shipnuck for his biography, he trivialised Saudi Arabia’s human rights issues and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, viewing it as an opportunity to overhaul the PGA Tour.

These comments led to the loss of several corporate sponsorships, and Mickelson subsequently joined LIV later that year.

The Masters is set to commence next Thursday night (AEDT), featuring a 91-man field, with one remaining spot available if the winner of the Texas Open this week is not already qualified.

– with Damien McCartney