New data from AceOdds can reveal the golfers currently suffering the most online abuse after Phil Mickelson was heckled at the US Open this weekend.
After the controversial deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed PIF earlier this month, players have been under the spotlight, with a lot of players who defected to LIV Golf drawing online criticism. This spilled onto the golf course at the weekend in the first major since the deal was announced.
By measuring the social sentiment of tweets mentioning 25 of the biggest names playing at the US Open, AceOdds were able to conclude the players who suffer the most online abuse by fans at a time when opinion is polarized within golf.
New data reveals over HALF of tweets about Mickelson are negative, whilst US golfers 5% more likely to suffer abuse online
| Name | Nationality | Positive sentiment | Negative Sentiment |
| Phil Mickelson | USA | 40% | 60% |
| Bryson DeChambeau | USA | 45% | 55% |
| Patrick Reed | USA | 45% | 55% |
| Rickie Fowlr | USA | 45% | 55% |
| Brooks Koepka | USA | 55% | 45% |
| Dustin Johnson | USA | 55% | 45% |
| Jason Day | AUS | 55% | 45% |
| Tyrell Hatton | GB | 55% | 45% |
| Jordan Spieth | USA | 65% | 35% |
| Shane Lowry | IRE | 65% | 35% |
Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson currently generates 60% negative sentiment when being mentioned in tweets. Mickelson has been a vocal supporter of LIV Golf since he agreed to join the breakaway tournament in 2022, which has led to traditional fans becoming angry.
Tweets criticizing Mickelson said he’s “a sellout and a hypocrite” with one saying: “I don’t respect him anymore”.
The study also found that the players suffering the most online abuse were all American.
Behind Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau all generate 55% of negative sentiment. Although Fowler remains on the PGA Tour, Reed and DeChambeau also left for LIV Golf in 2022.
About Reed, one Twitter user said: “I don’t like his on course behavior”, whilst another said DeChambeau was a “bad role model for young golfers”.
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka (both of LIV Golf) generate 45% negative sentiment on Twitter, the same as Australian Jason Day and Englishman Tyrell Hatton.
Data also revealed that US golfers were 5% more likely to receive negative comments than those from the rest of the world.
The American golfers analyzed suffer 32% of negative sentiment on average, compared with 27% for golfers across the rest of the globe.
Related: Golf’s shock merger could face multiple legal challenges – Competition lawyer
Data highlights LIV golfers suffer over 50% more abuse online
The six LIV golfers who ranked in the top 50 of the US Open suffered an average of 46% negative sentiment, compared with an average of just 25% for the 19 highest ranked PGA Tour players.
Recently, the organizers of Roland Garros tennis tournament revealed they would use AI in order to protect players from online abuse during the French Open. Could we be set to see something similar implemented in golf soon?
The full table contain all 25 players can be found here:
| Name | Positive | Negative |
| Phil Mickelson | 40% | 60% |
| Rickie Fowler | 45% | 55% |
| Patrick Reed | 45% | 55% |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 45% | 55% |
| Tyrell Hatton | 55% | 45% |
| Jason Day | 55% | 45% |
| Dustin Johnson | 55% | 45% |
| Brooks Koepka | 55% | 45% |
| Shane Lowry | 65% | 35% |
| Jordan Spieth | 65% | 35% |
| Tony Finau | 70% | 30% |
| Jon Rahm | 75% | 25% |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 75% | 25% |
| Patrick Cantlay | 80% | 20% |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | 80% | 20% |
| Justin Thomas | 80% | 20% |
| Cameron Young | 80% | 20% |
| Max Homa | 82% | 18% |
| Xander Schauffele | 85% | 15% |
| Viktor Hovland | 85% | 15% |
| Scottie Scheffler | 85% | 15% |
| Sam Burns | 85% | 15% |
| Rory McIlroy | 85% | 15% |
| Collin Morikawa | 85% | 15% |
| Cameron Smith | 85% | 15% |
