Phil Mickelson responds to Tiger Woods claims

Tiger Woods raised eyebrows when he claimed the PGA Tour had been forced to take out an “enormous loan” to help it through the Covid-19 pandemic.

During a lengthy press conference in the Bahamas ahead of the Hero World Challenge, Woods addressed a number of issues facing men’s professional golf right now.

Among them was the power struggle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and the tour’s sweeping changes which saw prize funds increased and “elevated events” introduced in what was widely seen as a response to LIV.

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He also claimed the tour would not have survived if the pandemic had continued for another year when he was asked about Phil Mickelson, who previously accused it of hoarding money.

Asked whether Mickelson was owed “an apology” after he was effectively ostracised from the game, Woods replied: “No, absolutely not, no. We took out an enormous loan during the pandemic in which that — if we had another year of the pandemic, our Tour would only be sustained for another year.

“We took out an enormous loan. It worked, it paid off in our benefit, hence we were able to use that money to make the increases that we’ve made.”

Earlier this year Mickelson accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and claimed it was “sitting on” vast sums due to players.

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The six-time major champion was clearly watching his long-time rival’s press conference with interest, and was quick to respond to his comments.

Replying to CBS reporter Kyle Porter on Twitter, Mickelson claimed the tour currently has more than $2billion in assets.

Since taking a self-imposed break from golf in light of his controversial behaviour earlier this year, Mickelson has plied his trade on the LIV series.

His move to the rebel tour came despite comments where he branded the circuit’s Saudi backers “scary m***********s”.