Phil Mickelson Returns To Twitter Amid Saudi Golf League Debate

Two hearts. And she clicks those hearts again.

Phil Mickelson liked two tweets, and soon after, he liked them. And that activity this week marked his return to Twitter, or any kind of known public interaction, two and a half months since he said he would be “take some time” following controversial comments about the LIV Golf Invitational series, a new golf league funded by Saudi Arabia.

What Mickelson was interacting with may also give you a clue as to where his feelings lie, with the Saudi league now less than a month away from its first event, the PGA Tour said this week that it would not grant releases to its members who wish to play in it. , including Mickelson, and the PGA Championship from next week, when he could defend his title won a year ago.

Michaelson i liked a comment which read, “@PhilMickelson is canceled though… WTF,” which was in response to a tweet from media personality Clay Travis, who wrote, “The NBA, who pulled their All-Star game from Charlotte for a transgender bathroom bill, is Games next year in the United Arab Emirates where homosexuality is punishable by death.” He also I liked a tweet which read: “PGA Tour bloc rebels, including Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood of the Saudi breakaway series #YahooSports #GOLF #P…”, from an account titled “offthebooks.crypto”, which appears to be a news aggregator .

Mickelson first disliked the comment, then the tweet. The tweet hadn’t been tagged, so maybe, oddly enough, he had to look it up.

The likes and dislikes were Mickelson’s first known public activity since February 22, when he issued a statement in response to comments he made for an upcoming biography of him written by Alan Shipnuck. (Shipnuck has disputed Mickelson’s characterization of their conversation.) In an excerpt from the book, published February 17 at firepitcollective.comShipnuck detailed Mickelson’s involvement in LIV Golf, the new company headed by Greg Norman that is expected to launch the invitational series in early June and is backed by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund.

Mickelson called his new partners “scary sons,” and also insisted that PGA Tour media rights should be redistributed more equitably among Tour members.

“Although it may not seem that way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been in the best interest of golf, my teammates, sponsors and fans,” Mickelson wrote in his statement. “There is the problem of off-the-record comments being shared out of context and without my consent, but the bigger problem is that I used words that I sincerely regret and that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions. It was reckless, I offended people and I deeply regret my choice of words. I am beyond disappointed and will do my best to reflect and learn from this.”

Mickelson has also not played in an event since the Saudi International during the first week of February, although speculation about his return grew two weeks ago, when Mickelson’s agent said the player had signed up to play in both the PGA Championship and the the US Open next month. he in addition to requesting a release from the PGA Tour to play in the first ever LIV Golf Invitational Series event, to be held June 9-11 in London. However, signing up for these events doesn’t mean Mickelson will definitely play in them. And this week, the Tour denied all of its members’ requests for the LIV tournament.

Regarding the PGA Championship, Seth Waugh, executive director of the PGA of America, said last week in 5 Club Conversation podcast that he has had “several conversations” with Mickelson as he decides whether to defend his title next week. Waugh thought Mickelson would make a “late decision” to play.

“And I think that, you know, we will continue to have conversations,” he said. “I have known Phil for 20 years and he is a complicated guy with complicated thoughts and in a complicated situation. So we’re all trying to figure out what’s best for him and frankly what’s best for the game and we’re going to continue to have those conversations.”

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Publisher

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor for Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories throughout the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left and right and short, and drinking a cold beer to clear the score. the. You can contact him about any of these topics (his stories of his, his game, or his beers) at [email protected].