Golf Channel Anchor Rich Lerner mentioned on “Live From the Masters” that American golfer Phil Mickelson turned down the opportunity for a press conference this week, according to a Monday tweet from The Fried Egg.
“Phil, we were told, declined an invitation,” said Lerner.
Former Masters champion Fred Couples didn't back down from comments he made about LIV Golf League players who have criticized the PGA Tour after leaving, ESPN Senior Writer Mark Schlabach wrote in a Monday article.
Couples said he doesn't dislike any of the golfers who defected to the LIV Golf League, but doesn't like some of the comments they made, continued Schlabach.
“I have no problem with any of them — just please do not bash a tour that I have 43 years invested in,” Couples said. “It bothers the hell out of me. They don't bother me. They really don't. They're golfers. I'm a golfer. I respect them all.”
Couples had called Phil Mickelson a “nutbag” and Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia a “clown” at a PGA Tour Champions breakfast last month. Mickelson and Garcia are expected to attend a Masters champions dinner on Tuesday.
The Masters had announced in December that golfers who previously qualified for the tournament would be eligible to play.
“We have reached a seminal point in the history of our sport,” tournament chairman Fred Ridley said. “At Augusta National, we have faith that golf, which has overcome many challenges through the years, will endure again. Through the years, legends of the game have competed and won at Augusta National Golf Club.”
Golfers like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and others will be eligible in 2023.
The 2023 Masters Tournament will start on Thursday, April 6 and will conclude on Sunday, April 9, according to USA Today. It will take place at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. ESPN will broadcast coverage starting at 3-7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday.
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