Phil Mickelson looking for first LIV Golf win

GAINESVILLE, VA – On Friday, June 6, LIV Golf will tee off near the nation’s capital – and President Donald Trump is already inspiring one golfer in his game. 

Ahead of the golf tournament taking over the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club this weekend, Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau talked about his most recent “side quests” – including flying a helicopter to the Utah Salt Flats and hitting golf balls off the White House south lawn. 

“Hitting in the White House was incredibly special. I never thought in my life I’d get an opportunity to do that. But the president himself was like, ‘just go out there and hit some shots,’ and I’m like, ‘okay, yes sir.’”

The two-time U.S. Open Champion, DeChambeau is at the top of the LIV Golf leaderboard. In an interview with FOX, he says he admires President Trump’s straight drives. 

“I admire how straight he hits the golf ball off the tee. It’s pretty impressive. For his age and how well he golfs, it’s admirable that he has the time to take care of the world’s problems and also be as good of a golfer as he is,” DeChambeau says.

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Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson also spoke to the media on Wednesday morning. Answering questions about a possible last dance at the U.S. Open in Oakmont starting June 12. Mickelson says he’s focusing on being an asset to his team, HyFlyers GC. 

“I want this team to succeed. I don’t want to hold it back. If I’m holding it back, then it’s time for me to move on and get somebody else in here,” Mickelson said.

Along with his teammates, Andy Ogletree, Brendan Steele, and Cameron Tringale, the founder of Bunkers in Baghdad, Joe Hanna joined them onstage. 

Hanna and the HyFlyer GC team talked about the latest milestone they’ve reached in their partnership. 

“Together, they have donated more than 16 million golf balls and 1.6 million golf clubs to U.S. troops stationed around the world,” the group says in a press release. 

Mickelson also talked about LIV’s global expansion since joining the league three years ago. “We want all the best players in the world to be able to compete against each other more often and on a global scale,” Mickelson said. “And the model that I was a part of for decades just didn’t, just didn’t allow for that.”

The LIV Golf tournament tees off at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Friday at 12:05 ET.