Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson both snub PGA | Golf News

Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka had been conspicuously absent from Xander Schauffele’s Champions Dinner on Tuesday, forward of the PGA Championship.

Schauffele is defending his Wanamaker Trophy at Quail Hollow. On Tuesday, he celebrated his victory at Valhalla final yr with a lavish three-course meal for previous match winners.

In addition to the feast, Schauffele offered earlier match winners with items, including humidors and a choice of cigars. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has reacted to Bryson DeChambeau claiming he did not communicate to him during the ultimate spherical of the Masters.

Among the energetic gamers who attended Tuesday’s banquet at Quail Hollow had been Masters champion McIlroy, two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, and world No. 4 Collin Morikawa.

However, LIV Golf stars Mickelson and Koepka had been lacking when the 17 attendees posed for a picture with the Wanamaker Trophy in entrance of the clubhouse, a image shared by the PGA of America.

Both males are taking part in this week’s match and attended final yr’s dinner, but they evidently had different plans on Tuesday. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh had been also not current at the dinner, but their absence was anticipated due to accidents that have pressured them to sit out the match.

John Daly, recognized as ‘The Wild Thing’ and the 1991 champion, opted out of this week’s match to play in the PGA Tour Champions’ Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Alabama, beginning Thursday.

At the Champions Dinner, Martin Kaymer represented LIV Golf as the only real 2010 PGA Champion, while the fashion-forward 2015 champion Jason Day drew eyes with a hanging burnt orange blazer.

Schauffele’s dinner menu featured an array of starters: smoked goat cheese dates, clams on line casino shooters, pickled watermelon, and steak and blue cheese crostini.

The predominant course was a luxurious wagyu New York strip, paired with blackened jumbo shrimp, creamy whipped candy potatoes, and a wealthy bourbon bone marrow discount.

For dessert, friends loved banana break up and strawberry shortcake, each with an alcoholic twist – the previous drizzled with rum sauce and the latter served with Chambord syrup.

Koepka, a three-time PGA Championship winner, achieved his first victory at Bellerive Country Club in 2018, adopted by one other at Bethpage Black, and accomplished a hat-trick at Oak Hill in 2023 to change into a five-time main champion.

Mickelson has twice hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy. His first victory got here in 2005 at Baltusrol Golf Club, where he narrowly beat out rivals including Woods, Davis Love III, 1995 champion Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn.

It took a while for Lefty to secure his second PGA win, but it was actually well worth the wait. Just shy of his 51st birthday, Mickelson defied the percentages to best Koepka and clinch the title by two strokes at Kiawah Island in 2021.