Saudi-funded series puts new scrutiny on Phil Mickelson
ST. ALBANS, England — Out of public view for four months, Phil Mickelson returns to golf under severe scrutiny because of where he’s playing and who is paying him.
Mickelson is a six-time major champion, the most popular golfer this side of Tiger Woods. And now he is being referred to as a “stooge” by a human rights group for being among 48 players who have signed up for a rebel golf league backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
“I don’t condone human rights violations,” Mickelson responded hesitatingly, choosing his words carefully at a terse news conference Wednesday.
Mickelson, who last year made history as the oldest major champion in golf ’s 161-year history, and Dustin Johnson are the leading faces of the LIV Golf Invitational series, the greatest threat to the PGA Tour since it was formed in 1969.
Along with disrupting the royal and ancient game, it has forced Mickelson and others to weigh the value of taking more money than they have earned in their careers against the kingdom’s notorious record on human rights.
The cash being offered by LIV Golf is irresistible, especially for players like the 51-year-old Mickelson in the twilight of their careers. Signing bonuses have been reported as high as $150 million for Johnson, even higher for Mickelson.
The Washington Post quoted Greg Norman, who oversees the circuit, as saying that Woods turned down an offer described as “high nine digits.”
There is $25 million in prize money at each event — more than the $20 million for the PGA Tour’s flagship event — with the winner banking $4 million and the last-place player earning $120,000. The circuit’s first event begins Thursday at the Centurion Golf Club near London.
It just requires players to potentially jeopardize their future participation in majors like the Masters, and in the Ryder Cup, while overlooking the riches flow from the Public Investment Fund and facing a torrent of questions about accepting cash from Saudi Arabia, which has faced a global outcry over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and other human rights violations. The kingdom has denied involvement in Khashoggi’s death.
It was Mickelson who called the Saudis “scary mother-(expletives)” in comments reported in February, citing Khashoggi’s murder in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
“I’ve made, said and done a lot of things that I regret, and I’m sorry for that and for the hurt that it’s caused a lot of people,” he said. “I’m certainly aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi, and I think it’s terrible. I’ve also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history.”
What is not clear is how LIV Golf can help to improve Saudi Arabia beyond burnishing its image, although there is little evidence of the country’s backing for the series around the Centurion Club in St. Albans.
“I understand people have very strong opinions and may disagree with my decision,” Mickelson said when asked to expand on his apology, “and I can empathize with that.”
Human rights activists see the players as engaging in the process they call “sportswashing” — helping a country improve its image through staging events with renowned athletes.
“Saudi Arabia has become more repressive in recent years, not less,” said Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK. “Human rights defenders and peaceful critics have been locked up, torture in jails is rife, and mass executions have shocked the world. Rather than acting as the willing stooges of Saudi sportswashing, we’d like to see golfers at the LIV Golf Invitational speaking out about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.”