Fred Couples has revealed he will “never” talk to Phil Mickelson ever again.
Couples didn’t mince his words when offering his opinion on LIV Golf participants and six-time major champion Phil Mickelson.
Speaking to Golf, Couples, 62, explained that he doesn’t think he will ever talk to Lefty again and that if he were to join the Saudi-backed series his family “would disown me” because of the source of the money.
The second LIV Golf Invitational series event, which has a total prize purse of $25m, is being played over the next three days at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon.
Mickelson is joined by Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed who are making their debuts in the controversial circuit. Reed, in particular, absolutely ripped the PGA Tour this week.
“I don’t think I’ll ever talk to him again,” Couples told the publication.
“What for? I’m not in the same boat as him anymore, and probably never will play golf with him again.”
“I’m not saying that to be mean. We’re just in different orbits.”
He continued: “These guys – you’ve seen their interviews, right?”
“Have you ever seen Phil look so stupid in his life? They know it’s a joke. They’re all saying they want to change golf; they’re doing it for the better of golf.”
“No one has said, ‘Hey, when I look back 50 years from now… we’ll have made this tour [what it is].”
“No one has said that. You know why? Because they’re not going to be around in three years.”
Also among the PGA Tour players moving to join LIV is Pat Perez.
Perez explained that he felt like he “won the lottery” in a tense press conference earlier in the week.
Perez explained he had “no concerns” over the source of the money he is receiving.
He then turned heads when he turned up a LIV Golf party wearing a shirt with dollar bills printed on it alongside his wife.
Couples, who won the 1992 Masters, added of Perez: “I heard of all people Perez was a little confrontational,” Couples told the publication.
“He’s a grain of sand in this Tour. He should be soft and kind, but he’s, like, raising his voice. I’m done with it.”
“I think this is a family thing for me. I’m a little peon from Seattle, but I know where the money’s coming from, and I think my family would disown me if I went.”
“Of course, that’s easy for me to say because I’m not going, so I can actually tell you whatever I want to tell you.”
Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com
When the PGA tour stops trying to do business with China, then I’ll take their position more seriously. They act like the Saudi money is tainted, but so is China’s. Both have terrible human rights history. So, should the PGA stop trying to get China on board with tournaments and so forth? If they hate LIV so much, yep.
Well said Don. I’m also sure all the self-righteous prigs are still filling up their BMW/Mercedes/Audi’s/etc… on a regular basis. To not do so would be a huge inconvenience to them. I’m sure all would say they don’t have a choice in that matter, but they do. They just don’t like the inconvenient consequences that choice would bring.
I find it interesting that all of these golfer like to pretend they’re taking the higher ground. Are these the same people the praise The Masters with their racist, misogynist rules but that’s okay right. Aren’t theses the same people that funded the race for Dubi🤔 the PGA. seem to be alright with the money then, why now is it an issue? Since as the just about everything on the PGA. Is produced in a country with no so nice human rights issue including our own let’s not ride to high on our horse.
Well I guess that Phil and the rest of them need the money so let them play we do not need them to play in the PGA. But they seem to forget who has held the tournaments they have made a lot of money on ? I would never bite the hand that feeds me.
They need each other, it should not be a dictatorship. The PGA with out the best players will not be around long.