The hits kept coming for Phil Mickelson over the weekend as more dominoes fell stemming from his comments over the past month.
Beyond his alleged alignment with the Saudi-backed Super Golf League, Mickelson accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and then took a blowtorch to both the Tour and the Saudis in an explosive excerpt from a forthcoming biography written by Alan Shipnuck.
- In the immediate aftermath of the Shipnuck excerpt, Mickelson’s longtime sponsor KPMG announced they would be severing ties with the World Golf Hall of Famer.
- As rumors swirled about his other endorsements, Mickelson released a statement stating he would give his sponsors the opportunity to “pause or end the relationship,” and practically all of them took him up on his offer.
What sponsors does Phil Mickelson still have?
After KPMG’s mutual parting of ways on Tuesday, Amstel Light and Workday followed suit before the biggest of Mickelson’s sponsors, Callaway, announced on Friday that they would be pausing their relationship with Mickelson.
“Callaway does not condone Phil Mickelson’s comments and we were very disappointed in his choice of words – they in no way reflect our values or what we stand for as a company,” the company said in a statement. “Phil has since apologized and we know he regrets how he handled recent events. We recognize his desire to take some time away from the game and respect that decision. At this time, we have agreed to pause our partnership and will re-evaluate our ongoing relationship at a later date.”
Callaway Golf to “pause” relationship with Phil Mickelson (1 of 2):
Callaway does not condone Phil Mickelson’s comments and we were very disappointed in his choice of words – they in no way reflect our values or what we stand for as a company.— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) February 26, 2022
Mickelson (2/2):
Phil has apologized & we know he regrets how he handled recent events. We recognize his desire to take time away from the game & respect that decision. @ this time we have agreed to pause our partnership & will re-evaluate our ongoing relationship @ a later date.— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) February 26, 2022
The final hat dropped on Saturday when The Palm Springs Desert Sun’s Larry Bohannan reported that Mickelson will no longer serve as host of The American Express PGA Tour event in La Quinta and his foundation, which was formed in 2019 specifically to be the charitable arm of the tournament, will no longer be part of the event.
Mickelson remains on a self-imposed sabbatical from competitive golf having not played on the PGA Tour since the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He is not in the field at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, an event he won in 1997 and has played 16 times in his career.
Whether he will play in next week’s Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event featuring a $20 million purse, is still unconfirmed. Mickelson has until Friday at 5 p.m. to commit to play in the event.
