Rory McIlroy Scorches Phil Mickelson For Using Saudi League as Leverage Against PGA Tour

McIlroy calls Mickelson's comments 'selfish, egotistical, ignorant,' in the wake of two more stars announcing their alignment with PGA Tour.

Rory McIlroy didn't hold back on Phil Mickelson on Sunday, criticizing the Hall of Fame golfer for his scathing comments about the PGA Tour that were reported last week and how he admitted using the proposed new league backed by Greg Norman to create leverage against the Tour.

Speaking after the final round of the Genesis Invitational, McIlroy — who in early 2020 stated his intention to remain with the PGA Tour — said he was happy to see that both Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau will continue to play on the PGA Tour.

Then he was asked about what Mickelson said in a phone conversation with writer Alan Shipnuck, which appeared last week on the Fire Pit Collective.

“I don't want to kick someone while he's down, obviously, but I thought they were naive, selfish, egotistical, ignorant," McIlroy told reporters. “A lot of words to describe that interaction he had with (writer Alan) Shipnuck. It was just very surprising and disappointing, sad. I'm sure he's sitting at home sort of rethinking his position and where he goes from here."

Mickelson was quoted by Shipnuck, in which he acknowledged issues with the Saudi-backed league but thought aligning with the Saudis would be worth the risk if such an allegiance would force the PGA Tour into making financial changes beneficial to him and others. The interview was conducted in November and was for a book Shipnuck is writing about Mickelson to be released later this year.

“They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics be we, the players, had no recourse," Mickelson said. "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. I’m not sure I even want (the new league) to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the (PGA) Tour.’’

According to the story, Mickelson admitted that he and three other PGA Tour players he would not identify paid attorneys to craft the operating plan for the new league.

McIlroy, a four-time major winner with 20 PGA Tour victories, said he believes the Norman-led league is “dead in the water" because “who is left.’’

Johnson and DeChambeau have joined McIlroy and other prominent players such as Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth in saying they would support the PGA Tour.

“I would say don't try to fix something that's not broken,’’ McIlroy said. “I don't think that the Tour and the system is broken. Are there things that could evolve and get better and maybe create better fan experiences for people watching at home or that come to tournaments, different formats, stuff like that? Yeah, of course. There's certainly room for all of that.’’