LIV GOLF DALLAS

June 26, 2025

Phil Mickelson

Grant Horvat

Fat Perez

Maridoe Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome to the media center here at LIV Golf Dallas participants in this week's the Duels Dallas, the third in a series of competitions involving LIV Golf stars partnering with the sport's biggest content creators. Today we have the team of Phil Mickelson and Grant Horvat and the team of Bryson DeChambeau and Fat Perez.

The first Duels video in Miami generated more than 2.5 million views and the Virginia video that we posted earlier this week already has 1.2 million views. The Duels Dallas will debut on Bryson's YouTube channel next month.

FP, you've partnered with major winners Cam Smith in Miami, Henrik Stenson in Virginia. Now you're with a two-time U.S. Open champion who happens to have 2.1 million YouTube subscribers and 3 million Instagram followers. What kind of magic did you have to conjure up to make that partnership happen?

FAT PEREZ: That's a good question. He seems to be better than me by any metric, even the ones I think I'm pretty good at. I don't know, it seems I can't get a second date out here, so I don't know if there's a bunch of people that want to play golf with me or they're one and done.

I keep getting great partners, though, so if I can't play with Cam again, Henrik was great. We had a great time in Virginia. And if I can't play with Henrik again, I've got Bryson. I don't think anyone is feeling bad for me up here.

Q. Phil and Grant, you've remained partners throughout the Duels and you both always seem excited to hang out together and just play golf. Phil, you described the pairing as sugar and spice. How much does that friendship contribute to a successful piece of golf content?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think we work really well together as a team. I tend to push the line on the spice and he's the kindest nicest guy you could imagine so he's always trying to rein me in and I'm trying to pull him up towards me.

I just think that we've really had a lot of fun together, and I'm very appreciative to Grant and what you've done in, first of all, helping me and the HyFlyers get our social program and YouTube program going and also to understand it a lot better, this space.

You've shared a lot of knowledge on how this works, as has Bryson, and I'm very appreciative of that.

I wanted to say that FP, he keeps upgrading his partner, and now he's like -- he wants to win so bad, he's like, if Bryson just drives it the way he does, he's such a good wedge player and putter, they think that they're dominating. Behind the scenes what you don't see, they're back there smack talking like this is a done deal, they've already won it.

I don't know if I agree. But I do understand his confidence, his level of why he feels like -- look, you've got the two-time U.S. Open champion, longest driver in the game, your great short game, I understand the confidence, but I think that can also be a detriment. You saw that at Virginia, you saw that with Grant and I. We had two holes left and this was a done deal, like how do you mess this up against this competition, it was a given, and yet we did.

I don't want you to go into this event feeling overconfident because it can be thrown back in your face. It has been thrown back in our face. I want you to succeed.

FAT PEREZ: That means a lot coming from you guys, seeing what you saw in Virginia. Thank you.

PHIL MICKELSON: But Grant has been very helpful to myself and our team in kind of developing this YouTube presence, understanding what it's about, and we've played really well together. We've had some really fun matches, and what I find is that I'm really enjoying this space and I'm enjoying it because of you and because of what you and Josh Morgan have done to help us. So thank you.

GRANT HORVAT: Yeah, I will say, our first couple Duels together, we've had a bogey in every round, and that's really hurt us so far. But I feel like we always find a way to bring it back and start clicking throughout the round. I think we work great together, and it's been super fun.

PHIL MICKELSON: I think today is our day, though. Despite what FP and Bryson are saying behind the scenes, I think today is our day that we finish it off.

GRANT HORVAT: We've had enough close calls that I think it is. Today's the day.

Q. Grant, do you remember the first time you met Phil? What was that like?

GRANT HORVAT: Oh, yeah, I remember it. You can't forget it. I think I was an hour into meeting him, and he tricked me on the first hole. Talked about these dead fliers at his golf course, and I flew the green OB after taking more club.

Ever since that day, I couldn't forget him. But yeah, we had a lot of great matches together. We had actually two matches together before we started our series --

PHIL MICKELSON: And I figured I lost both of them to you, and I'm like, if I can't beat him, let's join him, and that's where our partnership started.

GRANT HORVAT: Right. We had a lot of great matches, and from there it transpired to our 2v2 Series, but it's been awesome.

Q. Phil, yesterday we had another Duels competitor and a fellow LIV Golf captain who may have attended the same university as you who was in here and he made this statement about your ability to operate a range finder. He said, I'm amazed that he's been in golf for this long and has no idea how to change it from yards to meters. Just wanted to get your response.

PHIL MICKELSON: True. I agree with him. I was able to do it in our match with Grant, but it took me a while to figure it out. Then I forget which buttons I'm pressing and how to switch it over. Took me a while to figure it out. But because of Jon now, whether I'm back home playing on my own or playing in matches and I use a range finder, which I do on every shot, I usually just look at the number, and now the first thing I look at, is there a Y or an M next to it. It's the first thing I look at. It's instilled in me now. So I don't think that trick is going to work. He's going to have to come up with some new material.

Q. Grant, you've fallen prey to that, too, I think.

GRANT HORVAT: Well, I did, but I will say I was the first one to notice. I actually called Phil out, we were playing Josh Allen and Jon Rahm and I was looking at the card and this was three holes later so we've been tricked now for three holes, we've been coming up 30 yards short on every approach shot and the cart was saying a completely different number than the range finder, and I confronted Phil about it. He did get a little defensive in the moment, and I saw the Y -- actually, no, I saw the M. That's when I handed it to Phil and said, it's in meters.

PHIL MICKELSON: But even that didn't stop us from ultimately prevailing in the match. There's really not much they're able to do to slow us down, not in our 2v2s.

Q. Phil, it's Wesley Bryan here. The first question I have for you obviously leading into the Duels, you seem to feel pretty good about your partnership. You think that Bryson and FP are a good tandem. What are your thoughts on George and Dean?

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm going to pass this one over. I don't really know where to go with that.

GRANT HORVAT: I just saw Dean is a really long hitter. I think he's No. 2 in driving distance on LIV this year --

PHIL MICKELSON: But see, that's George's strength is driving. After that, I don't know, and that's going to be diminished because of Dean. The real question is how do we feel against playing Dean. Dean is a good player, but we have two shots to their one, and I feel like that will ultimately be enough of an advantage to prevail.

GRANT HORVAT: True.

Q. You remember when we did our 1v1, you specifically wanted George not to attend because you said, I quote, I'm afraid I might lose to George because he's better than you.

PHIL MICKELSON: So that was a behind-the-scenes conversation that took place. That is true. I felt like I took it to The Farms where you have to hit it pretty straight. I was worried about George keeping it in play and doing very well, and I didn't really have that fear with you. I didn't really feel that as we went into our match.

Ultimately, I was right. Again.

Q. We really don't have a lot in common, but one thing we also don't have in common is I am the only one that has a Duels championship under my belt. I know you've played in three, or two --

PHIL MICKELSON: Do you remember how well Sergio played that day? He hit some amazing shots.

Q. They're all fair points. They might seem harsh but I can take it. But one thing I do know, Dean is coming to play. He's excited to be here. He wants to prove something.

PHIL MICKELSON: Dean, honestly, is one of the most underrated players in the game. That is unquestionable. I've seen his play over the last few years, and whether he's winning out here, winning on International Series, winning in South Africa, he is the most underrated player.

But when you match that with the most overrated player, they tend to balance themselves out.

Q. All jokes aside, YouTube golf and pro golf, what we bring to the table, what have you seen the positive impact in YouTube golf kind of merging it with the pro golf game?

PHIL MICKELSON: This right here, because in professional golf you can't banter like this and have fun with it because there's kind of this edge or line that you lose -- it's like -- you just can't have fun like this because I don't know how to say it, but there's a point where it kind of crosses a line, but in YouTube golf that line is totally different because we're here to have fun, and a big part of the competition is the banter.

When guys go out and play -- when people, guys, women, go out and play on the weekends and they're with their buddies and they're talking and chirping, that's what they can relate to. That's exactly what they do with their friends at home, and they see that on YouTube and they see that with FP in his matches and Grant with his matches, and that's what I think makes YouTube golf so fun is this interaction here because we can say things that you wouldn't say in an intention professional competition.

Q. You mentioned about the line being crossed, and when you go to tear George down, just know that you come after both of us, and I don't stand on that. I've done it in comment sections and I've gotten in trouble for it and I've done it publicly and gotten in trouble for it. Just know that George is probably going to look like a much superior player than you this afternoon, and you're lucky he's not in the actual event because he looks extra motivated right now.

PHIL MICKELSON: I see it in the intensity of his face right now. The intensity of his facial expressions, I can tell that he came to play.

Q. FP, are you worried about your partner showing up for his Duels given he hasn't shown up for this presser yet?

FAT PEREZ: Yeah, it's a concern. (Laughter.) I don't know. I need him and I guess I need his entire staff, camera crew.

Yeah, I think they brought us here for a reason, and I'm looking forward to it. I can't do this by myself. I simply can't. But I will. But I will.

Q. I believe in you, FP. If nobody else in this room --

FAT PEREZ: I promise you no one else in this room does, including myself.

Q. I'm wondering about Texas golf and your take on it. Obviously you're playing in extreme heat conditions out here. Fred Perpall has been on record saying he's not bringing the U.S. Open here because of the heat and we're on a run here with several high-end championships. Obviously this one this weekend, we had the women's last weekend, a couple men's events in the pipeline. What's your take on the heat and how does it impact your game, and do you think Texas is fit for high-level premier golf?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I think it's obvious when you look at the three of us we're physical specimens and the heat is not going to bother us. That's not going to be a factor, but it can be for some golfers.

I actually think there's some great golf courses throughout Texas, and I'm glad to see that there are major championships now being played. We saw that on the LPGA up at Frisco. That looks like an incredible course that Gil Hanse did and will be hosting the men's PGA sometime soon. We have some history at Northwood and some other courses that have held the U.S. Open, just had a renovation that turned out amazing.

I think there's some great golf courses here, and it's really a very popular place. Golf is a very popular sport in this area, so it's great we're having so many tournaments here, and I'm happy that LIV is here.

Q. In terms of LIV Duels, is there any potential for this to go live? I feel like a lot of people, golf fans, would probably rather watch this on a Thursday than a Thursday on the PGA TOUR.

PHIL MICKELSON: No, I think it would be incredible live. The problem is that we've got to edit a lot of stuff out, so we need that time delay, and it needs to be a couple of weeks' time delay to get through it all.

Q. What is the difference in audience with the Duels versus LIV overall, and how have you seen the Duels kind of get new people into LIV specifically?

PHIL MICKELSON: Who are you asking that specifically for, all three of us?

Q. Anyone.

GRANT HORVAT: Yeah, I mean, I would say the YouTube golf audience can be different from the normal Tour viewers that are watching the live events. I would say it could be younger, and I think you're bringing in a new demographic. But there's a lot of crossover as well. But yeah, it's definitely really cool to see what the Duels has done so far and the views. It's honestly amazing to see.

FAT PEREZ: I view golf content as kind of complementary to pro golf. I think they're two very different things. I think there's a reason we don't put out videos on Saturdays and Sundays. We put them out generally early in the week or start of pro golf tournaments just to give the golf fan a full week's worth of golf entertainment.

I also think we aren't necessarily being watched because we play golf well. We're watched because we kind of show the complete side of a day on the golf course, whether that's sitting in the car, halfway house after the round, before the round. We're personalities, I feel like, and I think the pro game grows as professional golfers find their own value and coming into that world and showing themselves and maybe opening themselves up to their current audience, their current fan base, and maybe growing into a fan base that they don't have yet because when they're out there, they're working. They're trying to make birdies. They're not necessarily trying to entertain. Some golfers feel a little bit more of a responsibility to entertain out there than others. So this is just a different way of doing things.

I think the game of golf is the real winner when it comes to both of these worlds coming together.

PHIL MICKELSON: What FP is really saying is how additive YouTube golf is to the world of golf, to professional golf. That's really consistent and complementary to what LIV Golf is about. There's always going to be a need and a demand for the historical events. LIV Golf, when you see the audience that YouTube golf targets, and when I go to a club and these young kids are going up to Grant like in awe and the way that they connect with a young golf fan is a way that professional golf has really struggled.

It's one of the areas that LIV Golf is wanting to target is to get the younger generation connected and wanting to play golf and enjoying it. The YouTube influencers, FP and Grant and everybody, has done such a great job of that. So the partnership has really helped us also connect to the younger golf fan.

Q. I believe you referred to yourselves as "physical specimens." I'm sorry, FP, I'm not going to put you in that group just yet. I have seen you wear the joggers. You guys are both Primos and I've seen the commercial. I would love to give you some squat tips, Phil. But speaking of pants, do you feel like women will ever become part of this at any point?

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I think they're a huge part of it. In fact, the largest growing opportunity of the game of golf are women. I think that's a huge part of the success of the game and the growth of the game. So absolutely.

Q. And Duels specifically?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think so. I think -- yeah, I think so. I don't know, I haven't been involved in the details of it, but I think that it's a big part of the growth of the game, what LIV is about. 40 percent of the people attend LIV events are women. That connection, making that a family environment, making it a fun event that everybody is welcome is a huge part of it, and the growth of the game, if we're going to be successful, is to continue to have both men and women grow in the participation of the sport.

So I think it's a big thing, yeah.

Q. Now that you're so involved in social media, have you taken a look at any of the women who do content in the golf space, and if you could pick one other than Grant, who would you possibly pick to be on a team with you?

PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't looked at it because I don't have a time to do a lot of stuff, so if you notice I don't have that many videos out. Like we have our 2v2 Series and stuff, and it's a little bit different as a professional who's not fully committed like Bryson is to the growth of it, so I can only do so much. So I haven't really looked at that.

But I think for the Duels and for the growth of the game, I think it's an important part.

Q. Honestly, a lot of the women would probably show up to their press conference. I'll pass it on to anybody else.

FAT PEREZ: That's probably true, yeah.

Q. Phil, in your mind, have you played your last U.S. Open, or is there a chance you think for Shinnecock where you had a near miss there?

PHIL MICKELSON: So I said it's very possibly my last, and I think that's real. However, I also feel like I'm starting to play some good golf, and I've had -- this year has been my best year on LIV. I've had three top-6 finishes and some opportunities to win. If I play like that in some upcoming major championships, that could ultimately qualify me into another U.S. Open.

I don't want to say it's my last. I actually think I'm playing well enough that if I can play at the level I've played at out here in majors again, I'll finish high enough to get into a U.S. Open via that qualifying avenue. So I don't want to say that it is my last because I think I'm going to contend in the -- I'm in the other three majors for a lot of years, and it could very well get me into the U.S. Open again.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we appreciate the time. All the best this afternoon.