Earlier Thursday morning, author Alan Shipnuck posted an excerpt of his upcoming book, “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar.”
The excerpt shows a conversation he had with Phil Mickelson about the Saudi-backed Super Golf League. During the conversation, Mickelson explained why he’d leave the PGA Tour for the new league.
“… They killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights,” Mickelson continued, in an interview that Shipnuck said took place in November. “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.”
The comment immediately went viral on social media.
“Absolutely insane quote from Phil Mickelson here,” one person said.
Absolutely insane quote from Phil Mickelson here pic.twitter.com/WanxRma2aR
— harry breitner (@HarryTellsJokes) February 17, 2022
“going to be rolling this phil mickelson quote around in my brain for a while,” said someone else.
going to be rolling this phil mickelson quote around in my brain for a whilehttps://t.co/rWxKzG0BFs pic.twitter.com/tcHsPEBvRw
— Brian Pickett (@BrianPickett) February 17, 2022
Even PGA Tour star Justin Thomas gave his opinion on the comments – when asked about it.
“Seems like a bit of a pretty, you know, egotistical statement,” Thomas said. “I don’t know, it’s like he’s done a lot of great things for the PGA Tour, it’s a big reason it is where it is, but him and others that are very adamant about that [the SGL], if they’re that passionate, go ahead. I don’t think anybody’s stopping them.”
Mickelson doesn’t appear to be making many friends with his comment.
The post Phil Mickelson’s Bizarre Comment About New Golf League: Fans React appeared first on The Spun.