Phil Mickelson Apologizes for 'Reckless' Saudi Golf League Comments

Phil Mickelson was recently taking heat for the comments he made about the Saudi Arabia-owned Super Golf League. On Tuesday, the 51-year-old golf star broke his silence, releasing a lengthy statement about the backlash he has received for taking aim at the league in an interview with Alan Shipnuck. 

"Although it doesn'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," Mickelson wrote on Instagram, per PEOPLE. "There is the problem of off record comments being shared out of context and without my consent, but 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'm beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this."

The Super Golf League is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson were set to be the headliners of the league, which was scheduled to have 12 four-golfer teams and compete mostly in the United States. But it looks like that will not happen after the comments Mickelson made to Shipnuck on the website Fire Pit Collective as an excerpt from Shipnuck's new unauthorized biography. 

Mickelson said the people funding the Super Golf League are "scary motherf—s to get involved with." He also 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. 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."

Mickelson also said he will take some time away from the tour. "The past 10 years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level," he wrote per ESPN. "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." The Super Golf league is fronted by golf legend Greg Norman and was attempting to steal as many of the top PGA Tour players. But most of them decided to stay with the tour. 

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