ORLANDO – Pat Perez teed off on Phil Mickelson.
Speaking recently with former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Perez, as is his nature, didn’t hold back as he addressed Mickelson’s involvement with the Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League and his disparaging remarks about both the repressive regime in Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour.
Mickelson, a World Golf Hall of Fame member and six-time major champion, has been embroiled in controversy for comments he made to Golf Digest and Alan Shipnuck, author of the soon-to-be-released “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar.”
In a statement posted to social media last Tuesday, Mickelson, who has been the most high-profile golfer to support the SGL, which would pay exorbitant amounts of guaranteed money, siphon off players from the PGA Tour, and be a direct rival to the Tour, apologized for his remarks and said he was taking a leave of absence from the PGA Tour.
“I used words I sincerely regret,” Mickelson wrote. “It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words.”
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Perez, a 21-year veteran on the PGA Tour, wasn’t having any of it.
“His apology was such horseshit,” Perez said. “In the fact that he thought he was trying to make it better for the players,” Perez said. “He was in it for one reason. If anybody thinks he wasn’t in it for his own pocket, and his pocket only, is (blanking) high. They are (blanking) crazy.
“He was in it for himself. Why he went down two different avenues and basically buried himself on both, I can’t figure it out.”
Mickelson said of the Saudi regime: “They’re scary mother——- to get involved with. We know they killed (Washington Post reporter and US 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. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right.
“And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.”
Earlier this year, Mickelson told Golf Digest that the PGA Tour’s “greed” was “beyond obnoxious.” He also likened the PGA Tour to a “dictatorship.”
KPMG, Heineken/Amstel Light and Workday have ended their sponsor relationship with Mickelson. Long-time sponsor Callaway said the company is going to “pause” its relationship with Mickelson.
Pat Perez plays his shot on the seventeenth fairway during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
“If he was actually trying to help the players, and this and that, he did it completely wrong,” Perez said of Mickelson. “You were trying to fill your pockets. You were trying behind everyone’s back to get players to sign so you could get your big, golden paycheck in the end and then take off.”
Perez, a winner of three PGA Tour titles, said he doesn’t think the SGL will happen. He has not been approached about playing in the league. And Perez, without naming names, said he knows players who have signed with the league.
“(Mickelson) could have done this in such a different way. He could have gone, ‘You know what? I made a fortune on the PGA Tour, god bless the PGA Tour for taking care of me and giving me a place to play and this and that, but I feel I want to go down another route to kind of close out my career. Thank you, everybody. It’s been phenomenal. Goodbye.’ That would have been very easy,” Perez said. “He was not doing it for a guy like me, to put money in my pocket. He doesn’t give a (blank) if I live or die. He doesn’t care if I play on the Tour or not.
“He did this solely for himself to make more money. He’s made darn near a billion dollars. Why is he so desperate for another 100 million and change so fast?”
Well, Mickelson got $6 million richer on Wednesday. The PGA Tour announced that Mickelson finished second to Tiger Woods in the Player Impact Program; Woods will receive $8 million, Mickelson $6 million.
Last year, Mickelson tweeted that he was the winner of the $40 million ($50 million) program that rewards the top-10 players who have the most impact on the game. Wonder what Perez would say about that?