Rumors of a Saudi-backed golf league to compete with the PGA Tour gained steam this week when Phil Mickelson publicly voiced his support for said league, despite acknowledging the country’s awful human rights record.
On Sunday, Rory McIlroy voiced his support for the PGA Tour while ripping into Mickelson for his comments.
“I don’t want to kick someone while he’s down, obviously, but I thought [his comments] were naïve, selfish, egotistical, ignorant,” McIlroy said. “A lot of words to describe that interaction he had with [author Alan] Shupnick. It was just very surprising and disappointing, sad. I’m sure he’s sitting at home sort of rethinking his position and where he goes from here.”
Last week, an excerpt from an upcoming biography on Mickelson was released in which he was critical of the PGA Tour for its “obnoxious greed” with control of players’ media rights and justified collaborating with the Saudi Arabia government for a possible Super Golf League.
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“They’re scary motherf---ers to get involved with,” Mickelson said. “We know they killed [Washington Post journalist Jamal] Kashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Mickelson, whose comments were made in November, said he has “20 players” lined up to join the league.
But in addition to McIlroy’s comments, both Dustin Johnson and Bryson Dechambeau released statements on Sunday showing their support for the PGA Tour.
Johnson and Dechambeau were rumored to be among those players linked to the Saudi-backed venture, but it was not surprising to McIlroy to see them stick with the PGA.
“I think with everything that’s transpired in the last few days, I don’t think it’s surprising,” McIlroy said. “Live I’ve always reiterated; I feel like this is the best place to play golf if you’re an elite professional golfer. …I’m always very confident that the Tour’s headed in the right direction. I was really glad to see DJ and Bryson put those out those statements this week. We all want to play against the best players in the world and they’re certainly two of the best players in the world and it’s nice to know that they’re committed to playing here and committed to making this the best tour in the world.”
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