Phil Mickelson rips Fred Couples over 'low class jerk move' for saying Brooks Koepka wants to return to PGA Tour

Fred Couples has pulled no punches when it comes to LIV Golf, and more, specifically, his former teammate and fellow Ryder Cup vice captain Phil Mickelson. In the summer that Mickelson defected to LIV Golf in 2022, Couples opined, “These guys—you’ve seen their interviews, right? Have you ever seen Phil look so stupid in his life? They know it’s a joke." Then in March 2023, Couples again took shots at Lefty, calling him a “nutbag” and offering, “If you’re willing to give Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 53 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you.”

The barbs from a mostly beloved character like Couples had to sting Mickelson, especially with Couples nailing it on Mickelson’s play, which has been wholly mediocre in his time on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit.

The feud had seemingly quieted of late, but that changed on Tuesday when Mickelson responded to a Golf Digest social media post by calling an opinion Couples had expressed as a “low class jerk move.” Mickelson later deleted the comment.

The skirmish started when Couples did an interview with Sports Radio 93.3 KJR in his hometown of Seattle last week and suggested that his friend and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka wants to return to the PGA Tour.

“He wants to come back. I will say that, believe me, he really wants to come back and play the PGA Tour,” Couples said.

Those comments, first reported nationally by Golfweek, were the jumping off point for a Golf Digest X post that asked, “Do [you] want Brooks back on the PGA Tour?” As of Tuesday evening, there were 113,000 views of the post and 135 comments, but not the one that Mickelson posted. Before it was deleted, he said, “If it’s not true he damaged a relationship which he cares about. If it is true he took away Brook’s [sic] control of the timeline and narrative. Either way this is a low class jerk move by Fred.”

The only place at which Couples and Mickelson would seem to cross paths these days is at Augusta National because they’re both Masters winners who still compete and attend the Champions Dinner each year. Asked at the 2023 Masters after his “nutbag” comment if he thought it would be awkward with Mickelson at that year’s dinner, Couples said, “I'm not expecting anything different. I sit in a great spot … down by all the beautiful people that I've sat with … [Jack] Nicklaus, Tiger [Woods], [Raymond] Floyd, Sandy Lyle."

Couples said he would also welcome a Thursday grouping with Mickelson. “People have asked me are you going to get paired … I'm, like, I would love to be paired with Phil,” he said. “I mean, he's one of the best players that ever played. He loves this place as much as I do, and if we did, we'd look at each other on the first hole and we'd have a good time.”

Wonder if that’s still the case, and once again, oh to be in that Champions locker room on Tuesday night in this year or any other.