No hiding place for Phil, sport’s pariah-in-chief
IF GOLF’S pariah-in-chief harboured hopes of a gentle return to the spotlight, they were not realised in a Saudi-funded corner of St Albans yesterday. That Phil Mickelson somehow conjured more questions than answers would have once been cited as evidence of his ability to work magic.
Not these days, of course, with Mickelson’s reputation apparently locked in an inverse relationship with his bank balance, which is said to have swelled by as much as £160million for his romance with the LIV Invitational Series.
Just a few months ago he was quoted as describing the Saudis as ‘scary mother*******’, best used as ‘leverage’ against the ‘obnoxious greed’ of the PGA Tour. Well, with those manoeuvres having failed, Mickelson now finds himself the prime attraction for today’s first round of the series’ inaugural event at the Centurion Club, and very much trapped between a rock and a scary place. Whether he could go back to the PGA Tour, even if he wanted to, was one of the issues left hanging in an awkward first press conference since he put himself in exile in February. While the Tour are yet to confirm what sanctions will be deployed against their growing list of defectors, which yesterday looked set to include Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, Mickelson was in no mood to fill in gaps. Indeed, when asked if he had, or is currently, serving a Tour ban for his comments, he said: ‘I choose not to speak publicly on PGA Tour issues at this time.’ He said the same when asked if he would be punished by the Tour for his departure, and similar when pushed on how he has come to share a bed with the same people he was once using for leverage.
‘I’ve really enjoyed my time on the PGA Tour,’ the six-time major winner put forward. ‘I’ve had some incredible experiences and I have a lot of strong opinions on things that should and could be a lot better. One of the mistakes I’ve made is voicing those publicly. So I will really make an effort to keep those conversations behind closed doors.’
He was only marginally more forthcoming, if less convincing, on the question of whether this migration of talent, and by extension the most controversial development in golf’s recent history, was purely about the cash. ‘I don’t necessarily agree with your premise,’ he said. ‘The opportunity it provides me to compete, bring the sport throughout the world, play less, have a better balance in life — it gives me positives personally and professionally.’ That virtue of spreading golf ‘throughout the world’ has been one of the staple answers at this most contentious of breakaway events. It certainly seems to have been put forward as a justification, with Graeme McDowell on Tuesday having spoken of golf being a ‘force for good’. Whether that carries weight in balance to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is dubious at best. Mickelson (left) did speak on the latter, saying: ‘I don’t condone human rights violations at all. I’m aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi, and I think it’s terrible. I’ve also seen the good golf has done throughout history, and I believe LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game.’ It was later that he was asked about his reputed signing-on fee of £160m for the eight-tournament series. There was no correction. ‘I feel contract agreements should be private,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t seem to be the case but it should be.’
From there, he readied himself for a practice round with Lee Westwood and the Saudi PIF head Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is also chairman of Newcastle United. If it clicks for him this week, broadcast only on YouTube, Facebook and the LIV website, he will pocket more than £3m. Even if it doesn’t, he won’t be short of a quid. The 51-year-old’s future beyond these events remains a mystery, though he will be allowed to contest next week’s US Open, and is ‘hopeful’ over further Ryder Cup involvement. That could be tied to the remnants of his relationship with the PGA Tour, from which he has not resigned, unlike other major winners including Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
‘I’ve been part of the Tour for over 30 years and I’ve had a lot of incredible memories,’ he said. ‘I worked really hard to earn a lifetime exemption and I don’t want to give that up. I don’t believe I should have to. I don’t know what that means for a future.’ It is a sentiment that seems to apply to the whole of elite golf at this moment.