Tiger Woods, golf's most recognizable star, made his opinion of the rival league, LIV Golf, well known ahead of the Open Championship on Tuesday. Woods said that the PGA players who left for LIV “turned their backs on what has allowed them to get to this position.” With the Open Championship teeing off on Thursday, LIV Golf's biggest star, Phil Mickelson, responded to Woods' criticisms of the PGA defectors, per ESPN.

“I certainly respect his opinion,” Mickelson said Thursday. “I have a lot of respect for him. I respect his opinion. I think everybody's going to have strong emotions and opinions about it, and I certainly respect his.”

Phil Mickelson said he “respects” Tiger Woods' opinion. The six-time PGA major champion and current LIV Golf star acknowledged that “everybody's going to have strong emotions and opinions about it.”

Just a few paces later though, Mickelson defended the decision for himself. He said that “he couldn't be happier” and that he “made the right decision for me.” He went on to talk about how the player experience at LIV Golf can't be topped.

That's certainly something that Woods, who spoke about the honor and experience of playing in the PGA majors, like the Open Championship, would strongly disagree with.

Mickelson became the face of LIV Golf when he made questionable comments about the league's Saudi Arabian ties, calling them “scary mother*******.”

Now, he is having to face the stern criticism of golf's biggest star. It's the 150th Open Championship. However, the LIV Golf-PGA saga will undoubtedly continue to take center stage.