"You’ve never seen anyone kiss so much a**”: LIV Golfer calls out Phil Mickelson for sucking up too much post his 'scary m***********' comment
Phil Mickelson is considered one of the finest professional golfers who has secured several masterclass wins in his career. But not just name and fame, he also got embroiled in a series of controversies.
Last year, when Mickelson made the switch from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, his name made it into several headlines. The golfing fraternity saw how he changed from calling the Saudis "scary m***********" to becoming their poster boy for the league.
In an updated version of 'Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorised!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar', his biographer mentioned how Phil Mickelson tried to make amendments to the Kingdom of Saudi, he wrote:
"This was Mickelson's first visit to the Kingdom since he had been quoted calling its people 'scary motherf******'. He channeled all that anxiety into a relentless charm offensive. A fellow LIV golfer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says, 'If you think Phil is a b******* artist normally, this was another level."
In the book, an undisclosed LIV golfer slammed Phil Mickelson after he was constantly trying to better his image in front of the Kingdom. He even said that if King Abdullah City had elections, Phil could have become their mayor:
"You've never seen anyone kiss so much a** with that kind of enthusiasm and skill. He was 'on' from the second he got off the plane and never broke character.' 'I'm pretty sure by the end of the week he could have been elected mayor of King Abdullah City, if they actually held elections over there.'"
Interestingly, when Phil Mickelson made his cryptic remarks about the Saudis, he vanished from the sport for the next four months. He returned to professional golf after joining the LIV Golf and appeared at their first invitational at Centurian Club.
Phil Mickelson claims not talking with Alan Shipnuck - "I never did an interview..."
At a LIV Golf press conference at Royal Green Golf and Country Club in Jeddah, Phil Mickelson denied all the claims that he had any interview with Alan Shipnuck:
"I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck. 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."
The response to these questions came just after a statement issued by Mickelson claiming questions were made "off the record." The statement read:
"Although it doesn't look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interests of golf, my peers, sponsors and fans. 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."
A Statement from Phil Mickelson https://t.co/2saaXIxhpu
In fact, Alan Shipnuck himself was struck by the controversies. He was just recently removed from the LIV London press conference due to security reasons. Video footage of the writer getting ill-treated by security spread on the internet too.