Often at the heart of controversy in recent weeks, Phil Mickelson has declared his dissatisfaction with the management of player images by the PGA Tour in the media and may be reaching a point of no return with the authorities of the American circuit.

Phil Mickelson at war with the PGA Tour? - via Twitter @Deadspin

Phil Mickelson at war with the PGA Tour? – via Twitter @Deadspin

Oldest winner of a major tournament at the age of 50, 45 victories on the PGA Tour and six victories in a major tournament, Phil Mickelson alias Lefty needs no introduction. A member of the PGA Tour for many years now, but also a winner on the Champions Tour (reserved for those over fifty), the American left-hander seems interested in the Super Golf League project. Other high-caliber players have also been contacted but have said they want to continue supporting the PGA Tour.

Mickelson clearly revealing his interest in the Asian league, also made clear his dissatisfaction with the management of the PGA Tour: “The players do not have access to their own image. If the Tour wants to put an end to any threat (from Saudi Arabia or otherwise), they just have to return the rights and the images to the players. »

The PGA Tour would prefer, according to him, to control the images of the players to be able to make more profits and therefore act for a greedy purpose neglecting the players.
These statements add fuel to the fire and again increase tensions between the authorities of the PGA Tour and that of the Super Golf League.

However, it is thanks to these images and thanks to TV rights that the PGA Tour has continued to grow over the past thirty years, as have the tournament prize pools which continue to increase: the Genesis Invitational, for example, offered 12 million endowment dollars last week. Sanctions could be taken against the six-time major winner, sanctions that could go as far as exclusion.

Mickelson's opinion is not unanimous among his peers

Some players did not hesitate to respond to this comment on the management of the PGA Tour.

"That's a bit of a selfish statement. I don't know it's like he's done a lot of great things for the PGA Tour that's a big reason why he's where he is but him and the others if they're so passionate about this subject, let them go. I don't think anyone is stopping them. »

Big names like Rory McIlroy, John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau or Dustin Johnson have brushed aside rumors about their possible joining Greg Norman's project and affirmed their support for the PGA Tour.

Bryson DeChambeau was also the subject of big rumors with a proposal of 120 million dollars made to him by the circuit of Greg Norman. Absent for a few weeks due to an injury, it would not be the case and the winner of the US Open 2020 claims to support the PGA Tour.

Find the PGA Tour website in by clicking here.

By Baptiste Laurensou.