This week marks the most awaited kick-off of the PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tiger Woods was interviewed by The New York Times Ahead of the championship. The 46-year-old athlete was asked about the overall tournament and the decision of his tourmate, Phil Mickelson.
Earlier this week, Phil announced that he would not defend his title at this year’s PGA Championship. The decision was shocking for all the PGA enthusiasts and, of course, for Phil’s fans. By the unwavering relationship between the two, you can tell that Phil’s decision should have affected Woods one way or another. And this was what this interview centered around.
The Long-time Tourmates Have Not Spoken to Each Other Lately
Tiger Woods tells The New York Times that he has “not reached out” to his tourmate Phil Mickelson for a while now. “I have not spoken to him,” says the 43 years old athlete. However, he was pushed to tell that for how long they have no chat. To that, he hinted at the controversial statement that Phil made about the PGA Tour.
Nevertheless, Tiger Woods clarifies that it is not something personal. “We had long conversations about how the championship should and could be – and how it is. Similarly, we talked about why we play and what the yearn for. After these conversations, it turned out that I have a totally different opinion on the PGA Championship than Phil does. So, yeah. It is a difference of opinion. That is it. And I do not want to enforce my opinion on him just because he is my mate. Nor should he.”
Mickelson Wanted to “Reshape” the PGA Tour
The 52 years old golfer was of the opinion that the PGA Tour is “biased” and it needs to be “reshaped” through and through – to that Woods disagreed. In a chat with Alan Shipnuck, Phil had talked about the alleged “human rights violation” in the championship and had used a series of controversial words.
Likewise, the golfer had accused the PGA Tour of not respecting indigenous communities like gays and had alleged them as “grave violators of basic human rights.” He was quoted saying: “With this all said, I do not want to be involved with them (the PGA) anymore. I just want to take this as once in a blue moon to reshape how PGA operates.
