Phil Mickelson left to count the cost of his own greed as runaway ego finally catches up to him

In a telephone call with the journalist Alan Shipnuck, Mickelson admitted that he and three other top players had paid lawyers to draw up the Saudis’ draft operating agreement. At the same time he branded the Saudis “scary motherf--kers” and said: “We know they killed [Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights.” Regardless, he claimed he was negotiating with them to create leverage to gain better returns on the PGA Tour and that he was unsure if he wanted the Super Golf League to succeed.

The contents of that telephone conversation caused a storm. Rory McIlroy broke with golf’s tradition of benign rivalry to savage Mickelson as “naive, selfish, egotistical and ignorant”.

As the Super Golf League appeared to collapse with top players, led by McIlroy and Jon Rahm, committing to the PGA Tour, Mickelson issued a statement that admitted to personal flaws. “I have often failed myself and others,” he said. “The past ten years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level. I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritise the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.”

The fallout was quick. If normally-blinkered players have turned on Mickelson so have sponsors. KPMG became the first to drop the six-times major winner, putatively by mutual agreement, but the sudden severing of a 14-year alliance shows the scale of anger at a man who also described the PGA Tour as a coercive, manipulative dictatorship, questioned the legality of it having an $800 million stockpile of reserves and accused those governing the sport of “obnoxious greed”. Amstel Light soon followed.

His portfolio of sponsors, which also includes Rolex, Callaway, Workday and Intrepid Financial Partners, makes him about $40 million a year according to Forbes. Taking a hit in the pocket will be a body blow for a man who has earned close to $100 million in prize money alone, but he sounds like he knows what is coming. “I believe in these people and companies and will always be here for them with or without a contract,” he said.

His mea culpa included a rich tone of self-justification. He said the telephone call was off the record, something Shipnuck vehemently denies, and portrayed himself as something of a crusader trying to improve golf for the greater good. “Golf desperately needs change and real change is always preceded by disruption,” he said in his statement. “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.”

That was one interpretation. Another is that an extraordinarily rich man was prepared to play two sides off against each other in order to get richer.

His apologies were couched with caveats. “I apologise for anything that was taken out of context,” he said when referencing his dealings with LIV Golf Investments, the body fronted by Greg Norman and tasked with running the Saudis’ plans to disrupt the golfing establishment. It is hard to think of a context where “scary motherf--kers” could be ambiguous.

His praise for LIV Golf suggests he knows his duplicity looks bad and that he may never be welcomed back by the PGA Tour. “The specific people I have worked with are visionaries,” he said. “More importantly, they passionately love golf and share my drive to make the game better. They have a clear plan to create an updated and positive experience for everyone including players, sponsors, networks and fans.”

Brooks Koepka was one player not having that. “He can think whatever he wants,” he said. “He can do whatever he wants to do.” Nevertheless, Koepka suggested Mickelson is not a lone wolf and the Saudi super league will rumble on. “They’ll get their guys. Somebody will sell out and go for it.”

Notable by its absence in Mickelson’s statement was any apology to the PGA Tour. That bridge looks burnt. Last year Mickelson became the oldest major winner at 50 by claiming a thrilling PGA Championship. His ability to defend that will rest on retaining his PGA membership.

There was also some furious backtracking in Mickelson’s statement. “I used words I sincerely regret that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions,” he said. “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.” Of the many mistakes he admitted to making, he said: “My intent was never to hurt anyone and I’m sorry to the people I have negatively impacted.”

Mickelson has always been hugely popular, especially in the US. His statement mentions signing “every autograph” and it remains to be seen whether rank-and-file fans are bothered by all this. They did not care when he was a “relief defendant” in a federal insider trading lawsuit in 2016. He was not charged with any wrongdoing but still paid back $1 million he had made on trading stock bought on the advice of notorious gambler Billy Walters. It was alleged that Mickelson had gambling debts with Walters who was serving five years at the time. Nor did his fans care when he threw Tom Watson under the bus in the losers’ press conference at the 2014 Ryder Cup. Ultimately, the Saudi threat has already led to increased earning potential on the PGA Tour and the prospect of a miniseries in the fall to enliven the tired formula. Ironically, Mickelson has played a lead role in this.

Questions remain. Is he suspended by the PGA Tour? How long does he need out of the game? And, perhaps most pertinently, who were the other three players who helped with drafting the Saudi operating agreement. They are culpable too.

– The Times