Rebel Mickelson refuses to deny ban but will fight to stay on the PGA Tour

PHIL MICKELSON has warned he will not give up his PGA Tour membership without a fight but refused to answer whether he had been banned from the tour.

- Matt Majendie

The six-time Major winner is the most high-profi le name in the 48-man entry list for the inaugural LIV Golf event at Centurion in St Albans this week.

It is his first tournament in four months since his controversial comments calling LIV’s Saudi backers “scary mother*******”. At the time, he intimated he had taken a self-imposed exile from the game.

But asked this morning if he had served or was serving a ban from the PGA Tour, of whom he was also critical, he said: “I choose not to speak publicly on PGA Tour issues at this time.”

The PGA Tour has already issued threats to rebel players with LIV Golf over possible bans. To pre-empt that, others in the field at Centurion — Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Na — have already given up their PGA Tour membership.

But Mickelson, who has merited a lifetime membership as a result of his career successes, said he had no intention of following suit.