Ahead of this week's LIV Golf event in Jeddah, Phil Mickelson has given a strange take on the controversial comments he made about the Saudi Arabian regime and LIV Golf, which were brought to light back in February.
Mickelson had acknowledged the human rights abuses of the Saudi Arabian government, and their murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, before speaking triumphantly about the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour.
Mickelson also admitted to the comments, which were made to golf writer Alan Shipnuck, and apologised for them, but has today stated that he never did an interview with Shipnuck.
"I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck," Mickelson said. "And I find that my experience with everybody associated with LIV Golf has been nothing but incredibly positive and I have the utmost respect for everybody that I've been involved with."
One can only assume that he has a different understanding of what an interview is.
Phil Mickelson And LIV Golf
Interesting moment from Phil's LIV presser in Saudi Arabia. Asked about his previous comments about Saudi, he answers:
"So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck." pic.twitter.com/fLIrlkyJe5— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) October 13, 2022
READ HERE: Dustin Johnson Lands Crazy LIV Golf Prize After Just 6 Events
You can read the comments which initially got Mickelson in water below.
"They’re scary motherfuckers to get involved with,” he 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.
"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."
SEE ALSO: Graeme McDowell Calls Out "Inaccurate" World Rankings In LIV Golf Controversy
