The Saudi-backed league could be a huge risk for young players. (0:54)
Even though the Saudi Arabian government has been accused of many human rights violations around the world, Phil Mickelson is willing to get involved with a Saudi-financed golf league to have leverage with the PGA Tour.
Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) was written by Alan Shipnuck, who posted an excerpt of it on his website. The Fire Pit Collective website has a biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar.
It's... They killed a Washington Post reporter and have a bad record on human rights. 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.
One of the most high-profile PGA Tour players linked to the new circuit that will purportedly be funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is Phil Mickelson.
If the Tour doesn't do the right thing, there is a high likelihood that the Super Golf League will happen.
The Saudi-backed league, which will be part of the Asian Tour, had commitments from 20 players and will announce its plan next month during the week of the Players Championship, according to Shipnuck. Greg Norman is the leader of the new league.
The tour would not comment on the comments made by the golfer. A representative of the management team did not reply to the email.
The new circuit would include 14 events in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S., according to a player. The player said that there might be a trio of players with Mickelson, Johnson and DeChambeau.
Last year, at the age of 50, he became the oldest major champion in history, and this month he played in the Saudi International.
The PGA Tour has been able to get by with coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. The Saudi money has given us leverage. I don't think I want the SGL to succeed, but the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with thePGA Tour.
According to Shipnuck, Mickelson told him that he had enlisted three other players to help with the writing of the Super Golf League's operating agreement.
Over the past several weeks, Mickelson has been angry about the PGA Tour's excessive greed and control of players' media rights. He said players can't make money from their on-course moments. In an internal PGA Tour memo that was leaked in December, the tour announced it was launching a video-based NFT platform, which it said would be a new incremental revenue opportunity for players.
The Tour doesn't need that money. They have an $800 million cash pile. What do you think about the funding of the player impact program? $200 million for the European Tour? The Tour is supposed to give money to charity.
Is it legal for them to have that much cash on hand? The answer is no. They always want more. They have to control everything. Their ego will not allow them to make concessions.
The way the PGA Tour governs its players was one of the things that Lefty wanted changed.
The Tour likes to pretend that it is a democracy, but it is really a dictatorship, according to Mickelson. The concerns of the top players are different from those of the lower ranked players. They use the top guys to make their situation better, but the top guys don't have a say.
Anyone who leaves to play in the SGL will be immediately suspended and could be permanently banned from returning.
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