Phil Mickelson releases statement on controversial comments

Days after controversial comments made by PGA star Phil Mickelson surfaced, he issued a statement on the incident. The information he revealed surrounding his reason for entertaining the Saudi League’s offer to leave the PGA Tour for more money left many in shock.

The statement made by Phil Mickelson attempted to clear the air on his comments and the context they were not put into, along with another assessment of the state of golf.

“Although it doesn’t look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interest of golf, my peers, sponsors, and fans,” the statement reads. “I used words I sincerely regret that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions. It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words. I’m beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this.

“Golf desperately needs change, and real change is always preceded by disruption. I have always known that criticism would come with exploring anything new…

“I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and many have been shared with the public. My intent was never to hurt anyone and I’m so sorry to the people I have negatively impacted. This has always been about supporting the players and the game I appreciate all the people who have given me the benefit of the doubt.

“Despite my belief that some changes have already been made with the overall discourse, I know I need to be accountable. … I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.”

Original comments

The original comments made by Phil Mickelson became public after Alan Shipnuck shared excerpts from his upcoming book, “Phil: The Rip-Roaring Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar” which is unauthorized from the star himself.

“They’re scary motherf—–s to get involved with,” Mickelson said in a quote. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi 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. They’ve [the PGA Tour] been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.”

Since then, many professional golfers – including Rory McIlroy – have come out against Mickelson’s statement and challenged his assertions about both the Saudi League and the PGA Tour.