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Golf: Mickelson apologizes for 'reckless' comments on Saudi-backed league

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Rory Carroll, Reuters 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Phil Mickelson acknowledges the crowd after a putt on the fourth green during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course - South Course. Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/02/23/20220223_phil.jpg"/><figcaption>Phil Mickelson acknowledges the crowd after a putt on the fourth green during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course - South Course. <em>Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters</em>.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Phil Mickelson apologized on Tuesday for comments he made about the proposed Saudi-backed Super Golf League that set off a firestorm of controversy and said he planned to take &quot;time away&quot; from the sport.</p><p>In a November interview that was published on the firepitcollective.com last weekend, Mickelson criticised the government of Saudi Arabia for its &quot;horrible record&quot; on human rights, which he said included the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the execution of gay people.</p><p>Despite the government&#x27;s &quot;scary&quot; actions, he said he would use the prospect of a new, highly-lucrative tour to gain economic leverage over the PGA Tour, a position that drew the ire of fellow golfers including Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.</p><p>Saudi Arabia&#x27;s government denies accusations of human rights abuses.</p><p>&quot;Although it doesn&#x27;t look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interest of golf, my peers, sponsors, and fans,&quot; Mickelson said at the beginning of a lengthy social media post, where he claimed his previously reported comments were &quot;off the record,&quot; a charge the journalist denies.</p><p>&quot;The bigger issue is that I used words I sincerely regret that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions. It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words. I&#x27;m beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this.&quot;</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSz1jVv2PX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSz1jVv2PX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 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C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSz1jVv2PX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSz1jVv2PX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Phil Mickelson (@philmickelson)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>The six-time major champion said golf &quot;desperately needs change&quot; and that real change is always preceded by disruption.</p><p>&quot;I have always known that criticism would come with exploring anything new. I still chose to put myself at the forefront of this to inspire change, taking the hits publicly to do the work behind the scenes.&quot;</p><p>No golfers have publicly signed up for the proposed rival league, which is trying to lure top players away from the PGA Tour with the promise of huge paydays.</p><p>Mickelson praised LIV Golf Investments, Super Golf League&#x27;s financial backer, and called the people he has worked with there &quot;visionaries&quot;.</p><p>&quot;They have a clear plan to create an updated and positive experience for everyone including players, sponsors, networks, and fans,&quot; he said.</p><p>But the 51-year-old closed by saying he planned to take a break from the sport.</p><p>&quot;The past 10 years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.&quot;</p><p>(Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Christian Radnedge)</p>

Phil Mickelson apologized on Tuesday for comments he made about the proposed Saudi-backed Super Golf League.

Golf: Mickelson apologizes for 'reckless' comments on Saudi-backed league

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Golf: Mickelson apologizes for 'reckless' comments on Saudi-backed league

Rory Carroll,

Reuters

Published Feb 23, 2022 10:42 AM PHT

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Phil Mickelson

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