Phil Mickelson reportedly was heckled quite viciously by a man at the LIV Golf event at Trump National in Bedminster.
Lefty had just stepped onto the 16th for the shotgun start. The track “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC had just finished blaring.
Six-time major winner Mickelson was preparing to hit his tee shot at the par-3 hole in New Jersey when a man yelled: “DO IT FOR THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY!”
Per a report by NJ.com, there was a light grumble in the crowd and Lefty stepped away to gather himself. A security guard then warned the heckler to stop, according to witnesses.
Perhaps Lefty was a bit flustered. He smashed his tee shot into the greenside bunker then followed that up by nearly hitting his sand shot into the water on the other side of the green. He made a bogey.
Mickelson finished round one of three at the third LIV Golf event at 4-over par. It means that, astonishingly, he is now a combined 40-over par in 11 rounds of golf since returning from his self-imposed exile from the game.
He was asked by the media afterwards about the heckle.
Mickelson dodged the question, then added: “I had a really good day. The people here have always been great. They’ve always treated me well, and I had a really good day with the fans.
“I’m just a little frustrated with my game, to be honest. To three-putt the last two holes with makeable birdies, I’m just frustrated because I expect more of myself.”
The location is less than 50 miles from Ground Zero. Family members of the victims and survivors of 9/11 have been protesting the LIV Golf series.
Just this week the chair of the group, Terry Strada, blasted the players who have signed up for LIV, suggesting that they were “puppets” for the Saudis.
Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters winner, was the latest signee to be announced by the circuit.
Watson said he prayed with his wife about the decision to join LIV. He is currently injured but will make his debut in September.
Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of the Ryder Cup Europe captaincy because he joined LIV, shared the lead with Patrick Reed after the first round.
The Swede and Captain America both fired rounds of 7-under 64.
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american sport fans will script your legacy
hope it was worth it pic.twitter.com/EymGED3A6g
— Matthew Wiley (@wiley77) July 29, 2022
Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com
So Bubba prayed before he made his decision. That makes it ok then. The 9/11 terrorists prayed too. Guess that made it ok? What a pack of greedy hypocrites.
The heckler should have been thrown out, no warnings
Most fans came to see these LIV pros play at a great course
They all know who is bank rolling this league.
So as a fan you make a decision Toto or not go, to support or not support
The heckler came with an agenda. He should have protested outside like all of the other protesters did. They have a perfect right to protest in that way.
As for the LIV itself it’s a business and if it pays the players so much much more than the PGA individuals are free to choose who they want to associate with, players are not slaves to the PGA
Final thought. All of the protestors who were outside. I wonder how many of them drive a Japanese car? Who can forget the horrible sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the countless atrocities they committed. Yet today Japan is one of our greatest allies. Do the protestors really believe/think the entire Saudi government and the nation were part of the Trade Center atrocity ? I am sure a few government officials conspired or tacitly had a blind eye,but don’t paint the entire nation with a broad brush!!!!!
there is two pcs. of shit there !
A Has been and a saudi suck ass.