It was just last week that Phil Mickelson explained at the Farmers Insurance Open that he wasn’t too informed on the ins and outs of being involved in rival circuit to the PGA TOUR, the Premier Golf League. To further explain, The Premier Golf League is the first genuine threat to the PGA TOUR, as it is an upstart group that is looking to fund a world tour that would have 18 events with 48 players and a first-place prize pot of a rumored whopping $5 million.
Phil Mickelson meets with PGL affiliates
As of Wednesday, Phil Mickelson seems to be more fluent in the concept because of his latest excursion in the Saudi-International pro-am where he played with important figures that have involvement in The Premiere Golf League. In a report by The Scotsman the men he played with were: Majed Al-Sorour, who is the CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation; sports consultant and The Rain Group affiliate Colin Neville, and Andrew Gardiner, a director at Barclays Capital.
After playing, Mickelson seemed impressed, which does not bode well for the TOUR. “It was fascinating to talk with them and ask some questions and see what their plans are. Where they started, how they started, why and just got their background, which was very interesting,” Phil Mickelson explained.
“I haven’t had a chance to put it all together and think about what I want to say about it publicly, but I do think it was an informative day for me to have the chance to spend time with them.”
Jay Monahan says you can’t have both
Where the Premier Golf League started off as an idea it seems to be gaining more and more traction everyday, even prompting PGA TOUR commissioner, Jay Monahan, to send out a member to TOUR players warning them that they will have to choose the TOUR or The Premier Golf League—the won’t be able to choose both.
In addition to Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Patrick Reed also made their way to Saudi Arabia for the Saudi-International pro-am.