LOS ANGELES (AP) — Phil Mickelson has managed to blast the Saudis and the PGA Tour in one published report.
His remarks came in a phone interview with a journalist writing his biography.
Alan Shipnuck has published the remarks on his "Firepit Collective" site.
Mickelson uses vulgarity to mention how scary the Saudis are.
So why contemplate taking the money for a Saudi-funded league?
He says it's all about a once-in-a-lifetime chance to let players have more say in how the PGA Tour is run.
“They’re scary mother (expletive) to get involved with,” Mickelson says. “We know they killed (Washington Post reporter Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. 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.”
As for the PGA Tour, he says it's a dictatorship that manipulates and divides.
“The tour likes to pretend it’s a democracy, but it’s really a dictatorship,” Mickelson said in the report. “They divide and conquer. The concerns of the top players are very different from the guys who make their own situation better, but the top guys don’t have a say.”
According to the Associated Press, Mickelson says he's recruited three other “top players,” who he has not named, for the Saudi-backed golf league.
He added that attorneys, who also haven't been named, have been paid to write the operating agreement, the news outlet reported.
The AP reported that Mickelson said he has 20 players ready for the proposed league.