As family health concerns and serious personal allegations linger, the six-time major champion remains sidelined, leaving the HyFlyers captaincy vacant for nearly the entire LIV season.
Phil Mickelson's 2026 season has included more questions than competitive rounds. And with LIV Golf returning to the New York/New Jersey area this weekend, one of the league's biggest names remains nowhere to be found.
Mickelson isn't competing at LIV Golf New York, extending an absence that has limited the six-time major champion to just one LIV appearance all season.
Scott Vincent has once again replaced Mickelson on the HyFlyers GC roster, joining Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale and Michael La Sasso. LIV confirmed Friday that Vincent has been serving as the replacement for his team's captain.
Mickelson originally announced in February that he and his wife, Amy, needed to remain home because of a "family health matter," forcing him to miss LIV's first two events.
His absence ended up lasting longer.
Mickelson missed the first four tournaments before returning for LIV Golf South Africa in March, where he made his lone start of 2026.
Then, in early April, Mickelson announced that he would again step away for an "extended period of time" as his family continued dealing with the health matter.
More than four months later ... he's still out.
"Obviously we want Phil here," Steele said, via the New York Post. "Scott is an awesome replacement, and he's been really, really great for us all around."
Steele said he still speaks with Mickelson "here and there," but didn't offer any additional insight into when the HyFlyers captain could return.
"We wish him well," Steele said. "We want him to be happy and healthy, and that's pretty much all I can say."
Mickelson's time away from professional golf has extended well beyond LIV competition.
He missed the Masters and PGA Championship while dealing with the family health matter, didn't receive a special exemption into the U.S. Open and wasn't in the field for the Open Championship.
The result?
For the first time in his professional career, Mickelson missed all four majors in the same year.
And his absence is still being noticed by his peers.
"Obviously, Phil is a big draw. He has a lot of fans," Lee Westwood told the Post. "He would attract more fans to any tournament he played in. There's certain people over the years that's moved the needle, and Phil is one of them."
But there aren't many tournaments left for Mickelson to return to this season.
LIV Golf New York is the second-to-last individual event on the league's 2026 schedule, meaning Mickelson is quickly running out of opportunities to make another appearance.
What initially began as a two-event absence has now consumed almost his entire season.
And with no publicly announced return date, Mickelson's lone appearance in South Africa remains the only competitive golf he's played all year.
