Lefty might be left out of PGA Tour moving forward

These days, news travels fast over a host of platforms, and these platforms are easily accessed by pocket-sized delivery devices — and processing it all can be overwhelming. Yet, there are times when certain stories can bring an abrupt halt to the scrolling.

Lately, Phil Mickelson and his involvement with a rival world golf tour jammed my gears. It was like a knotted log that ground the teeth in the sawmill of an incessant newsfeed.

Mickelson said something that might get him banned from the PGA Tour, and remember, this is a guy the FBI couldn't even nail when they investigated him for insider trading.

Lefty's story begins with Alan Shipnuck, the former Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine writer who is in the process of finishing a book about Mickelson. The book will be titled, "Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar."

The way Shipnuck tells it, Mickelson just couldn't help himself and felt compelled to grant an interview when it came to the subject of the Saudi Golf League. The idea of a rival tour has been around for more than a few years, but the SGL has gotten some traction since Greg Norman and his company agreed to back it last October.

Late last week, Shipnuck dropped excerpts from his interview with Mickelson in a story he, Shipnuck, wrote for the golf-centric website Fire Pit Collective. Here's a quote:

"We know they killed (Washington Post columnist 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 it's 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. I'm not sure I even want (the SGL) to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the (PGA) Tour."

Does Mickelson have a point or two to make? Probably. He has long agitated about the distribution of money on the Tour. He believes the Tour controls too much of the wealth. Monahan, under threat, has pumped up purses, especially in events that involve the top players, such as The Players and the FedEx Playoffs. Revenue streams for social-media involvement have been greatly widened.

The Saudi royal family, via its sovereign Public Investment Fund, which recently bought Newcastle United for $407 million, is promising Mickelson hundreds of millions of dollars. Mickelson said he has recruited several "top players" and they have had lawyers draw up an operating agreement.

What is operational here is greed.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with jump-starting a rival Tour, for whatever reason, something is certainly amiss here. Drawing up an "operating agreement" might be enough for a Tour ban or suspension, but that's not even the unsettling part.

Mickelson likes the idea of gobs and gobs and gobs of guaranteed money, so he'll get in bed with a "scary (expletive deleted)" who have kidnapped and dismembered at least one of their critics. Hey, as far as we know, it's not two. Not so bad. As for the other human-rights violations, well, it's a cultural thing. Let's grow the game!

Over the weekend, a number of highly ranked players — Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy among them — were asked about Phil and the SGL and they kind of shrugged and said they were happy competing against the best fields in the world over here.

Dustin Johnson, rumored to be one of the players interested in the SGL, on Sunday announced (via the PGA Tour) that he, too, is fully committed to the PGA Tour.

If (as rumored) Lee Westwood, 48, and Ian Poulter, 46, want to throw their visors in with Mickelson, 51, and play on the Shark tour, well, as Justin Thomas put it, "If they're that passionate, go ahead. I don't think anybody's stopping them."

Mickelson, according to written testimony in federal court, is a big-time gambler who has written checks worth millions of dollars to cover his losses, might just have to be content with playing the stock market.

Michael Arace

Columnist

Columbus Dispatch

USA TODAY NETWORK