WASHINGTON, DC — Phil Mickelson confirmed on
Monday he has signed to play in the lucrative Saudi-backed LIV Golf
Invitational Series, saying he also plans to play major events, including next
week’s
US Open.
اضافة اعلان
The six-time major winner will be in the field of 48
at the controversial new tour’s inaugural event in London this week.
“I am ready to come back to play the game I love but
after 32 years this new path is a fresh start,”
Mickelson wrote in a statement
posted on Twitter.
Mickelson later Monday told Sports Illustrated that
he plans to play all eight LIV Golf events and compete in majors after talks
with major sanctioning bodies.
“I’m looking forward to playing the US Open,”
Mickelson told SI. “I’m under the understanding that I’m able to play.”
Mickelson told SI he will keep his
US PGA Tour membership, unlike some who joined LIV Golf, but has not spoken with PGA Tour
commissioner Jay Monahan or long-time rival Tiger Woods.
“I’m uncertain how I will play given that I haven’t
played in a few months,” Mickelson told SI. “But I’m optimistic.”
Mickelson has not played since the publication of
comments in February where he criticized the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s Saudi
backers.
In an interview with author Alan Shipnuck, the
51-year-old American left-hander said the Saudi-funded LIV Golf was an
opportunity to gain leverage over the PGA Tour.
However, Mickelson described the new venture’s
backers as “scary” with a “horrible record on human rights,” noting the death
of US journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate.
Mickelson, a 45-time
winner on the PGA Tour, apologized when his original remarks were made public
and took some “desperately needed time away” from golf, skipping the Masters
and PGA Championship during his self-imposed exile.
“There’s a lot of things I regret,” Mickelson told
SI. “I made a lot of mistakes. I hurt a lot of people and I’m really sorry.”
Mickelson said in his statement that he remains in
therapy.
During his absence, however, LIV Golf has torn at
the fabric of world golf, with dozens of household names joining the new tour.
Last week, former world number one
Dustin Johnson joined the money-spinning new series, whose tournaments will offer among the
richest purses in golf history.
This week’s event teeing off at Centurion Club at St
Albans, north of London, will have a $25 million purse — almost double that of
any major, with $4 million going to the winner.
The Washington Post reported Monday that LIV Golf
commissioner Greg Norman said 15-time major winner Woods turned down a
“mind-blowingly enormous” LIV overture.
“We’re talking about high nine digits,” Norman said.
Woods said last month he supported the US PGA Tour,
noting its legacy to such icons as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Others going to LIV Golf include European Ryder Cup
stars Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Sergio Garcia.
Players opting into LIV Golf have done so despite PGA Tour
warnings of disciplinary action.
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