The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mickelson faces more scrutiny for joining Saudi-backed series
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.
“I don’t condone human rights violations,” Mickelson responded hesitatingly, choosing his words carefully at a terse news conference near London on 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 bonus 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 Woods turned down a “high nine digits” offer.
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 lastplace player earning $120,000. The circuit’s first event begins today at the Centurion Golf Club.
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.
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.
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 course in St. Albans.
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.
“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,” said Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK.