Couples roasts LIV Golf, calls Mickelson a 'nutbag'

Fred Couples teed off on LIV Golf and several of its players while speaking at a PGA TOUR Champions breakfast Tuesday.

Couples' targets included Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, and Cameron Smith.

"If you're giving Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 52 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you," Couples said, according to the OC Register's Randy Youngman.

The 1992 Masters Champion also called Mickelson a "nutbag" but admitted he's "probably one of the 10 best players that ever played" and insisted he still likes Lefty despite his decision to join the Saudi-backed tour.

Couples said he's also bothered by "all these other clowns, like Sergio," who ripped a PGA TOUR rules official before defecting to LIV.

"Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I've been a part of for 42 years," Couples, a 15-time PGA TOUR winner and three-time Presidents' Cup captain, said. "That's my problem (with LIV players). They're all bashing the PGA TOUR."

Smith was only referred to as "the guy who won The Players Championship and British Open last year." Couples called him out for citing LIV's lighter schedule as part of the reason he's leaving the PGA TOUR and saying, "Now I can have birthdays and go to weddings of my mates."

"I find that comical, because my favorite to ever play has five kids, 40 grandkids, and he has never missed anything - and that was Jack Nicklaus," Couples said.

It wasn't just the players Couples took aim at. He also poked fun at LIV Golf's new broadcast partner, the CW Network.

"It was on the CW a couple weeks ago, or whatever that channel everybody is laughing about," he said. "I turned it on three times. It was so bad, I couldn’t even watch anyone that I liked. They don't show 'em. … Who won the last one? I don't even know."

Couples may see Mickelson, Garcia, and Smith face-to-face in the near future, as all four golfers are qualified to play in the 2023 Masters, which begins April 6.