PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Phil Mickelson’s popularity may be taking a dive, but Brooks Koepka isn’t so sure the same can be said about the Saudi Arabia-backed golf league.
Koepka, speaking Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Mickelson attempted to save himself from his unflattering comments about the PGA Tour, believes somebody will “sell out” and ultimately opt for the Greg Norman-backed, Saudi-financed Super Golf League.
“I think it’s going to still keep going,” Koepka said. “I think there will still be talk. Everyone talks about money. They’ve got enough of it. I don’t see it backing down. They can just double up and they’ll figure it out. They’ll get their guys. Somebody will sell out and go to it.”
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Rickie Fowler agreed, saying because the Saudis “love golf” – he calls them “golf nerds” – he does not see talk of a new league fading. Fowler added he believes the PGA Tour is “the best place to play” but “it could get better.”
Some, though, believe Mickelson single-handedly is doing to the Saudi-backed league what Michigan coach Juwan Howard is doing to postgame handshake lines.
McIlroy, ranked No. 5 in the world, believes the league is “dead in the water.”
“Who’s left? Who’s left to go? I mean, there’s no one,” McIlory said last week during the Genesis Invitational. “It’s dead in the water in my opinion. Yeah, I just can’t see any reason why anyone would go.”
But the intentions of two former world No. 1s, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, and others like Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson remain unknown. Westwood’s thoughts, especially, are a mystery since he signed a non-disclosure agreement with the league.
Most continue to throw their support toward the Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan. Several high profile players like Koepka, Fowler, McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay have stated their allegiance to the Tour.
Koepka has doubled down on his loyalty to the Tour. Daniel Berger reiterated his stance Wednesday.
“I’ve always been behind the Tour,” he said, praising Monahan for how he led the Tour through COVID. “There’s no one I would trust more to guide the Tour through all of these difficult times.”
And the criticism aimed toward Mickelson ramped up after Alan Shipnuck, author of the soon-to-be-released “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar,” last week published comments Mickelson made in November.
“I don’t want to kick someone while he’s down obviously, but I thought they were naïve, selfish, egotistical, ignorant,” McIlroy said. “It was just very surprising and disappointing, sad. I’m sure he’s sitting at home sort of rethinking his position and where he goes from here.”
Billy Horschel piled on.
“Idiotic. Complete lies. False.”
Mickelson called the Saudis “scary mother—s to get involved with” and said “we know they killed (Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay.”
Still, he is calling the league a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates,” saying the Tour has gotten away with “manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse” and the Saudi money gives players leverage against the Tour.
“He can think whatever he wants to think, man,” Koepka said Wednesday. “He can do whatever he wants to do. I think everybody out here is happy. I think a lot of people out here have the same opinion.”
A Statement from Phil Mickelson pic.twitter.com/2saaXIxhpu
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 22, 2022
Although Mickelson on Tuesday said his words were “reckless,” he claimed they were off the record and taken out of context. Shipnuck disputed that claim.
A letter Norman sent last week to some golfers and their agents was leaked Wednesday. In it, he said the Tour would violate antitrust laws were it to ban players who joined the the Saudi-backed league, permanently banning golfers would diminish the product, the Tour will likely crumble under public pressure supporting players.
But during a meeting with Tour pros at PGA National Tuesday, Monahan reiterated that any players committing to the Saudi-backed league would be banned from the Tour.
Mickelson’s comments have already cost him sponsorship deals. KPMG and Amstel Light have bailed on the controversial Lefty. The PGA Tour would do itself well to jump on board and sever ties with Mickelson.