Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson is the latest PGA Tour star to become part of The Greenbrier.
The resort announced Saturday afternoon that Mickelson, who has won three Masters, a PGA Championship and an Open Championship, has become a PGA Tour ambassador for The Greenbrier. Mickelson will buy a home at the resort, become a member of the Greenbrier Sporting Club and play in the 2017 Greenbrier Classic, to be held July 3-9.
Mickelson also will serve as a design advisor for the Greenbrier Course, which is undergoing a renovation, and help promote the growth and development of the resort's new Oakhurst community, which includes a new mountaintop course.
He joins two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, who already has a home at The Greenbrier, and golf pro emeritus Lee Trevino as golfing stars currently representing the Greenbrier. Mickelson also recently made a donation to Neighbors Loving Neighbors, the Greenbrier's charity organization that is helping rebuild homes lost to the floods that devastated several areas of West Virginia.
"He cares," Greenbrier owner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice said of Mickelson. "He does so much good. He's done so much good. He's a really special, special guy."
The Greenbrier Classic was canceled this past July after that heavy flooding. Mickelson said he hopes many of the PGA Tour's best will join him in entering the 2017 tournament.
"I hope that all the Tour players see the need," Mickelson said Saturday in a press conference broadcast over The Greenbrier's Facebook page. "This has been a real staple, a real big part of the history of the game of golf, and I think a lot of the guys are going to come out just to show support of that and for Mr. Justice, all he's done in keeping the Greenbrier such a relevant name in the game of golf."
Mickelson was part of the United States Ryder Cup team that brought the trophy back to the U.S., with a 17-11 win over the European team last weekend at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. He picked up two wins in the Friday and Saturday morning foursomes and halved his Sunday match with Sergio Garcia.