Adding to the uncertainty over his future on the PGA Tour, the veteran American golfer Phil Mickelson resigned on Friday to defend his historic PGA Championship title in the new edition next week in Tulsa (Oklahoma).
“We have just been informed that Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the PGA Championship,” the organizers of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year announced on Twitter on Friday.
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Phil is the defending champion and is currently eligible for PGA Life Membership and we would have welcomed his participation.
Mickelson had imposed a brand a year ago
A year ago, Mickelson achieved an epic victory in this tournament at the age of 50, being the oldest winner of a Grand Slam in history. The American, who has a total of 45 PGA trophies including six ‘Majors’, was part of the list of participants of the PGA Championship published on Monday, which also included Tiger Woods, who returned to golf in April at the Augusta Masters. a year after his serious car accident.
Mickelson, on the other hand, missed the Masters for the first time since 1994 and will now also miss his first PGA Championship since making his debut in 1993.
Why Mickelson has not returned to compete
The American has not competed since his controversial comments were made public in February in support of a new Saudi-backed competition, the LIV Golf series, which opens next month.
The left-handed golfer then said that despite the “horrible human rights record” in Saudi Arabia, he would consider getting involved in the project as a way of pushing for improvements for players on the PGA tour. The proposal could be a “unique opportunity to reshape the way the PGA works” and achieve changes such as the tour’s ownership of player media rights, Mickelson said at the time.
The American later apologized for his comments, which cost him several sponsorships. “Golf is in desperate need of change, and true change is always preceded by disruption,” argued Mickelson, whose last competition was the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, where he missed the cut.
The American is one of a number of players who applied to the PGA for permission to compete in the first LIV Golf series event in London from June 9-11, which the US tour turned down.
The LIV Golf series, promoted by former Australian player Greg Norman, has eight events scheduled in its inaugural year, four of them in the United States, but has not yet announced the participating golfers.
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A week ago, the Spanish Sergio Garcia, winner of the Augusta Masters in 2017, hinted that he could join this competition during a protest against a PGA official at the Wells Fargo Championship tournament.
The reaction of other players to the Mickelson case
Today’s big PGA stars have publicly rejected the Saudi project and some, like Spain’s Jon Rahm, supported Mickelson’s return.
“I don’t think his entire career or his entire legacy should change because of a couple of comments,” said the world number two.
“This whole situation is unfortunate. Phil will be back. I think the players want to see him back. He’s done a wonderful job for golf.” said Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who at first called Mickelson’s comments “naive, selfish and ignorant.”
SPORTS
with AFP
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