Phil Mickelson's absence from competitive golf to continue as defending champ withdraws from next week's PGA Championship

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Phil Mickelson, who hasn't played competitively in more than three months, won't defend his title next week at Southern Hills Country Club.

The PGA of America said on Friday that Lefty had withdrawn from the Championship.

Phil is the defending champion and currently eligible to be a PGA Life Member and we would have welcomed him to participate. We wish Phil and Amy the best and look forward to his return to golf.

Last month, the six-time major champion missed the Masters for the first time since 1994.

Last year, at the age of 50, Lefty became the oldest major champion in golf. He hasn't played on the tour since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.

The unauthorized biography of Lefty will be released next week and he is taking time away from golf.

The Saudi Arabian monarchy's alleged human rights violations were criticized by the golfer, who said he was looking past them to gain leverage with the tour.

They are scary motherf---ers to get involved with. They have a bad record on human rights. People are executed for being gay. Why would I consider it if I knew all of this? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change how the PGA Tour operates.

He apologized for his comments.

Workday and Amstel Light ended their relationships with him. Callaway stopped its relationship with Phil Mickelson after signing him to a contract.

According to a report on Wednesday, one of the closest friends of Phil Mickelson said he would be surprised if the golfer played at Southern Hills.

I think Phil is in a really good place right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't play. I am not sure if he wants to deal with the media. He has done it his whole life. I think he has enough respect for the game that he will play, but it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't. I don't think he wants to deal with it.

It has been said that only four golfer in the last 50 years have not attempted to defend their title at a major the next year. The last one to miss The Open wasRoryMcGuire, who injured his ankle playing soccer before the tournament. Tiger Woods missed the 2008 PGA Championship because he was still recovering from knee surgery. The 1999 U.S. Open champion, Payne Stewart, was killed in a plane accident.