LIV Series is 'trending upwards', says six-time major winner Phil Mickelson

Six-times major winner Phil Mickelson said he loves his decision of joining the Saudi-backed breakaway LIVGolfSeries, which he believes is "trending upwards" while the PGA Tour will be "trending downwards". The LIVGolfSeries, which launched in June, has lured away some of the sport's biggest names with enormous purses while those who joined the rebel circuit are no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour events.

Mickelson said that during his heyday, the best players in the world competed on the PGA Tour but that will never be the case again. "I think going forward you have to pick a side. You have to pick what side do you think is going to be successful," Mickelson told reporters at the LIVGolfInvitational Series in Jeddah on Thursday. "I firmly believe that I'm on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professionalgolf."

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Last month, the PGA Tour accused LIVGolfof using antitrust laws "as a cudgel" and undermining its contracts with players in a counterclaim to a lawsuit the Saudi-backed circuit filed. In a lawsuit filed in August, LIVGolf, Mickelson and 10 other players accused the PGA Tour of antitrust violations.

"Until both sides sit down and have a conversation and work something out, both sides are going to continue to change and evolve," Mickelson added. "And I see LIVGolftrending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards and I love the side that I'm on... I love the way they involve us and listen to us in decisions. It's so inclusive, it's so fluid."