Phil Mickelson Not Among Players Registered to Compete in 2022 Players Championship

Phil Mickelson will not compete in next week's Players Championship, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach. It will be just the third time since he turned pro that he will miss the event. 

The news doesn't necessarily come as a surprise as Mickelson has taken time away from the game following his comments about the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabian-backed Super Golf League.

Mickelson voiced his opinion about the Super Golf League in controversial comments to author Alan Shipnuck, who posted them an excerpt from his upcoming book, Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar (h/t Schlabach):

"They're scary motherf--kers to get involved with. ... They killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. [...] They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

Mickelson made the comments in part to express his displeasure with the PGA Tour. He later apologized in a Twitter post. 

Mickelson has since lost several sponsorships. Callaway Golf paused its partnership with the 51-year-old, while Workday, KPMG and Heineken/Amstel ended their relationships with him. 

Mickelson is one of the only known big-name PGA Tour players who has considered joining the Super Golf League. Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm were among the golfers to deny interest in joining the SGL and reiterate their commitment to the tour. 

Mickelson hasn't played since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. It's unclear when he plans to return to the links.