Mickelson decides not to defend his title at PGA Championship
Phil Mickelson withdrew Friday from the PGA Championship, electing to extend his hiatus from golf following his incendiary comments he made about a Saudi-funded rival league he supports and the PGA Tour he accused of greed.
Mickelson authored one of the most stunning victories last year when he won the PGA at Kiawah Island, at age 50 becoming the oldest champion in 161 years of the majors.
The PGA Championship starts Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Mickelson has not played since Feb. 6 at the Saudi International, where he accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” in an interview with Golf Digest.
Two weeks later, in an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck's unauthorized biography to be released next week, Mickelson revealed how he had been working behind the scenes to promote the rival league funded by the Public Investment Fund and run by Greg Norman.
Mickelson dismissed Saudi Arabia's human rights atrocities, including the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, by saying it was worth it if it meant gaining leverage to get the changes he wanted on the PGA Tour.
Mickelson met the deadline to sign up for the PGA Championship on April 25, though his manager said it was more about keeping his options opened. He also entered the U.S. Open, and said he would ask for a conflicting event release to play the LIV Golf Invitational in London, the first of Norman's $20 million tournaments.
The tour said earlier this week it would not grant any releases.
Mickelson is the first major champion not to defend his title since Rory McIlroy at St. Andrews in 2015 because of a knee injury from playing soccer.
He is only the third PGA champion not to defend his title in the last 75 years. Tiger Woods missed in 2008 while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, and Ben Hogan couldn't play in 1949 while recovering from his car getting struck by a bus.
Mickelson's issues were self-inflicted.
“I personally think it's an unbelievable mental challenge to come back and play after what he's put himself through,” six-time major champion and CBS analyst Nick Faldo said. “I don't think it's as easy as just getting back on the bike and arriving at a golf tournament and playing. The attention is going to be monumental.”
PALMER SHOOTS 62, JOINS
LEAD AT BYRON NELSON >> Jordan Spieth thought the course for his hometown Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas would play more difficult after yielding more birdies in its debut than any other tournament on the PGA Tour last season.
The three-time major winner says he couldn't have been more wrong, and is frankly surprised over how little he thinks was done the first two days to make TPC Craig Ranch a stiffer test.
Ryan Palmer, one of the Dallas-area players in the shadow of Spieth and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, shot a 10-under 62 and was tied at 15 under with Sebastián Muñoz and 40-year-old tour rookie David Skinns.
“I mean, a 60 yesterday and a lot of 8s (under) and 7s all over the board,” said Spieth, who shot 65 and was three shots off the lead in a group that includes defending champion K.H. Lee. LEE TAKES 3-SHOT LPGA LEAD >> The only only thing missing from Minjee Lee's resume this year is a victory and the best scorer on the LPGA Tour took a big step toward that in the second round of the Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, N.J.
Lee flirted with the best round on tour this season before settling for a 9-under 63 and a three-shot lead at the halfway point of the event on that honors the 13 founding members of the women's tour. The Australian had a 14-under 130 total at Upper Montclair Country Club.
First-round leader Madelene Sagstrom, Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing shared second.
STRICKER KEEPS 2-STROKE LEAD IN CHAMPIONS >> Steve Stricker shot a 4-under 68 to maintain a two-stroke lead over Scott McCarron and Padraig Harrington in the second round of the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.
Stricker had only his first bogey of the tournament on the par 5 fifth hole but never lost his lead. He was at 11-under 133.
McCarron shot a 65, and
Harrington had a 66.
John Daly was disqualified for failing to sign his scorecard after a 72. He had opened with a 68.
NFL
SAINT SIGN PRO BOWL RECEIVER LANDRY >> Free agent wide receiver Jarvis Landry, a five-time Pro Bowler, is joining the New Orleans Saints. The eight-year veteran confirmed the move on Twitter.
Landry spent his first four pro seasons with Miami before joining the Browns. He led the league in receptions in 2017 with 112, his final season with the Dolphins.
JEUDY'S GIRLFRIEND ASKS FOR CASE DISMISSAL >> The girlfriend of Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy asked a judge to dismiss a misdemeanor case against him stemming from a dispute between them.
The woman, who has a month-old child with Jeudy, told Judge Chantel Contiguglia that she did not feel threatened during the incident and made contact with authorities to “monitor the situation,” The Denver Post reported.
Jeudy, 23, was arrested Thursday at the couple's suburban Denver home after his girlfriend reported that he had locked some of her belongings and items for the baby in his car, preventing her from returning to Virginia. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree criminal tampering with a domestic violence enhancer, a misdemeanor, and had to spend the night in jail until he could appear before a judge because of the enhancer.
RAIDERS TRADE EDWARDS TO FALCONS >> The Atlanta Falcons bolstered their thin ranks at receiver by acquiring Bryan Edwards from the Las Vegas Raiders. The Falcons are sending a fifthround pick in 2023 to Las Vegas, while also acquiring a seventh-rounder next year from the Raiders.
Edwards, a 2020 thirdround pick, caught 34 passes for 571 yards and three TDs last year for Vegas.
Motorsports
POWER'S LATE RUN PUTS HIM ON POLE FOR INDY GP >> Will Power used the final lap of qualifying to move past five drivers and take the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
The Australian will start from the No. 1 spot for the 64th time in his career after going 1 minute, 9.7664 seconds on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. He knocked defending series champ and points leader Alex Palou to second after the Spaniard went 1:09.8090.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC SHOWS OLD FORM IN ITALIAN OPEN WIN >> It was just the type of scrambling, wear-down-the-opponent mentality and shot-making that took Novak Djokovic to within one match of a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2021. A spectacle that was missing for so much of this year when Djokovic didn't play because he wasn't vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The top-ranked Djokovic brought the Foro Italico crowd to its feet with several memorable points in a 7-5, 7-6 (1) win over Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the Italian Open semifinals in Rome.
While he is still seeking his first title of the year, Djokovic was ensured by the victory of holding on to the No. 1 ranking for another week and have the top seed at the French Open.
Djokovic's semifinal opponent will be Casper Ruud, who beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7), 7-5.
Also, fifth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Jannik Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-2 to reach the semifinals.
Tsitsipas will face Alexander Zverev, who beat Cristian Garin 7-5, 6-2.
In the women's tournament, Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 26 matches by beating Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (2), 6-0.
Swiatek's semifinal opponent will be third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who rallied past Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Hockey
Sharks prospects help U.S. beat Latvia >> The United States jumped to a commanding 3-0 lead over Latvia after the opening period and cruised to a 4-1 victory in their Group B opener of the world ice hockey championship in Tampere, Finland.
Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau scored a goal, as did U.S. captain Seth Jones and Sam Lafferty. Goalie Strauss Mann, another Sharks prospect, stopped 24 of 25 Latvian shots to get the victory.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice and led defending champion Canada to a 5-3 win over Germany in their opening Group A game.