PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Phil Mickelson’s return: ‘The ball is in his court’
Whenever he is ready to return to the PGA Tour, commissioner Jay Monahan is ready to sit down with Phil Mickelson.
The two haven’t spoken since Mickelson’s controversial comments about the Tour and the rumored Saudi-backed golf venture, which prompted plenty of backlash and eventually led to Mickelson taking a step away from golf completely.
Monahan said Tuesday ahead of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass that he won’t push Mickelson, but will rather wait until the longtime Tour star is ready to play again.
“I think as it relates to Phil, you said it: The ball is in his court,” Monahan said. “He has said that he’s stepping away and he wants time for reflection. That’s something that I and we are going to have to respect and honor.
“When he’s ready to come back to the PGA Tour, we’re going to have that conversation. That’s a conversation I look forward to.”
Mickelson steps away from PGA Tour
Mickelson came under fire last month, and lost several key sponsors, after he made “reckless” comments about the proposed Saudi league — something he was a loud supporter of.
Even with the country’s horrific record on human rights, Mickelson saw it as an opportunity to change the Tour and help fix what he believes is a broken media rights deal.
“They’re scary motherf***ers to get involved with,” Mickelson said of the Saudis in an upcoming book. “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.”
Naturally, those comments drew a ton of criticism. Days later, he apologized in a lengthy statement and said that he will be stepping away from golf.
“Despite my belief that some changes have already been made within the overall discourse, I know I need to be held accountable … 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,” Mickelson said, in part.
Monahan insisted that the Tour is respecting his decision to step away, but declined to say whether Mickelson had been or would be suspended, fined or punished in some other way — which is a longstanding policy of the Tour.
“He stepped away on his own accord, and he’s asked for time,” Monahan said. “He’s been given that time. We don’t comment on disciplinary matters, potential matters or actual matters. But every player is accountable for their actions out here.”
Monahan: ‘The PGA Tour is moving on’
With Mickelson backing away, nearly every other big star in the golf world has now distanced himself from the Saudi league.
So as players are staying with the Tour, Monahan said he’s done giving the Saudi rumors any attention.
“The PGA Tour is moving on,” he said. “We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners and most importantly our fans from enjoying the Tour and the game we all love so much.
“I am grateful for the strong support our top players have shown recently and publicly, and I’m extremely proud that we’ve turned the conversation around to focus on what we do best: Delivering world-class golf tournaments with the best players to the best fans, all while positively impacting the communities in which we play. We are and always will be focused on legacy, not leverage.”
So whenever Mickelson is ready to talk, Monahan is ready to answer.
With what Mickelson has accomplished in his career, Monahan knows Lefty has at least earned that.
“Listen, he’s a player that’s won 45 times on the PGA Tour. He’s had a Hall of Fame career,” Monahan said. “He’s won here at The Players Championship. He’s inspired a lot of people and helped grow this Tour, his Tour.
“So, as difficult as it is to read some of the things that were said, ultimately a conversation will be had when he’s ready to have it, and I will be ready to have it as well.”
