Phil Mickelson was placed under intense pressure during an awkward press conference ahead of the inaugural LIV Golf Series event in London this weekend - and the American icon refused to confirm if he had been banned from the PGA Tour.
The controversial LIV Golf competition is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and fronted by Greg Norman, with Mickelson one of several star names to venture over. He was the headline act until Dustin Johnson came along, who on Tuesday confirmed he had resigned from the PGA Tour himself.
Mickelson has not played since January and took a break from golf after controversial comments over Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour, with the fallout from his words leading to him missing the Masters for the first time in 28 years. The 51-year-old also pulled out of the PGA Championship, where he was set to be the defending champion after becoming the oldest major winner in history last year when he won the PGA at Kiawah Island.
In the wake of the interview, Mickelson lost his longest and most valuable sponsor, KPMG, as well as the opportunity to win further prize money at the tournaments he missed. And in his press conference on Wednesday at the LIV Golf event in St Albans, the American had to awkwardly circumnavigate tough questions - including whether he is serving a ban from the PGA Tour.
“I choose not to speak publicly on PGA Tour issues at this time,” Mickelson said at The Centurion Club before adding: “I will play in next week’s US Open and I’m looking forward to it.”
The US Open is the only major title which has eluded Mickelson throughout his illustrious career, which explains why he may be keen to play at Brookline next week. The tense press conference saw Mickelson stumble and often pause as he carefully articulated his answers.
While he admitted he perhaps erred by speaking out against the PGA Tour publicly, Mickelson defended his decision. He added: “I understand that many people have very strong opinions and may disagree with my decision.
“I can empathise with that, but at this time, this is an opportunity that gives me a chance to have the most balance in my life going forward and I think this is going to do a lot of good for the game.”
Total prize money for the eight scheduled LIV events - five of which are to be held in the United States - is set to be over £200million and the seven regular-season tournaments will have total purses of £20m, which are the richest in professional golf.
The top three individuals after the seven regular-season events will also share a £24m bonus, while the season-ending team match-play championship is scheduled for October 27-30 at Trump National Doral in Miami. It will provide another £40m in prize money.
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However, Mickelson has reiterated his decision was not made with money in mind. He also took the opportunity to condemn the human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t condone human rights violations. I don’t know how I can be any more clear,” Mickelson insisted. “I love this game of golf.
“I’ve seen the good that it’s done and I see the opportunity for LIV Golf to do a lot of good for the game throughout the world and I’m excited to be a part of this opportunity.”
The inaugural LIV Golf Series event will be held in London this weekend at the Centurion Club in St Albans.
