Phil Mickelson set to miss The Masters for first time in 28 years | Golf News

The 51-year-old is no longer listed in the field of active players competing at next month’s Masters; the three-time winner has been listed as a “past champion not playing” on the tournament website; The Masters starts on April 7 at the Augusta National Golf Club

Phil Mickelson looks set to miss The Masters for the first time in 28 years

Phil Mickelson is set to miss The Masters for the first time in 28 years, after being removed from the list of competitors for next month’s tournament.

The three-time winner has been listed as a “past champion not playing” on the tournament website.

Mickelson is currently taking a break from golf following the fall-out from his comments about the PGA Tour and a potential Saudi-backed rival circuit.

The 51-year-old six-time major winner has not played since the Saudi International tournament in February.

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Nick Dougherty and Rich Beem think Phil Mickelson’s statement does not seem sincere and seems like more of an apology to the Saudis about having to pull out of the proposed league

Mickelson has participated at Augusta National every year since 1994, having made his Masters debut in 1991, and won the green jacket in 2004, 2006 and 2010.

Mickelson announced towards the end of February he was taking a break from golf “to work on being the man I want to be”.

He also apologised for his “reckless” comments about a proposed Saudi-backed breakaway league and said he would be stepping away from the sport.

Earlier in February, an author, Alan Shipnuck, of an upcoming unauthorised biography on Mickelson released excerpts from the book in which the golfer called the Saudis “scary” but said he was willing to look past their human rights records to gain leverage with the PGA Tour.

Saudi Arabia’s government has denied accusations of human rights abuses.

Mickelson apologised for the comments, which he claimed were off the record. The long-time fan favourite has since found himself isolated and has also lost a number of sponsors.

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Brooks Koepka says we have not heard the end of a proposed Saudi-backed golf league and that someone will ‘sell out and go to it’.

Norman: Saudi-backed series ‘slow process’ | ‘Door open for Mickelson’

Greg Norman admits it may take time to attract star names to the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series and insists Phil Mickelson will always be welcome to compete in the events.

The former world No 1 announced on Wednesday that the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire will host the first of eight 54-hole tournaments, played across the three continents during a five-month period, with prize purses bigger than anything currently available in the professional game.

Norman will be sending a letter to all of the world’s top 250 to invite them to feature in the events, offering a draft-style team element as well as the individual competition, although the tournament organisers are currently not sure on who will feature in the inaugural series.

Phil Mickelson hasn’t played since apologising last month for his “reckless” comments regarding the proposed Saudi-backed breakaway league, where he accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and acting like a “dictatorship”.

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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says it is over to Phil Mickelson to phone him to discuss his controversial comments about the tour that led to the reigning PGA Championship winner to step away from the game

Mickelson describing the Saudi government were “scary “motherf*****s” and that he was only using the new tour as leverage to more money from the PGA Tour, although Norman would still be happy to see six-time major champion – or any player – tee it up in his tournaments.

“We’re not saying you have to play here and have play there, we’re just giving them [players] opportunities to have a choice about where to play,” Norman said.

“If they want to play then the door is wide open and the door is also wide open for Phil Mickelson. I spoke to him last night and had a good, long conversation. There’s not a person on this planet that hasn’t said something that they wish they could take back.

“You’ve got to be able to allow the individuals and the players to have choice and we’ll give them the choice to do that. If they don’t want to come, so be it. I’m not stopping them and I’m not saying they’re going to be banned for life if you don’t do it – it’s their choice.”