In this installment of the #AskAlan mailbag, GOLF senior writer Alan Shipnuck fields your questions about Phil Mickelson’s decision to skip the Phoenix Open for Saudi Arabia, a potential Presidents Cup upset and more.
With the top two American players either out or playing hurt, and with Tiger and most of the team stuck in the Bahamas the week before, could we be looking at an upset scenario at the Presidents Cup? [email protected]
Losing Brooks hurts, not only for his fine play but also his alpha energy. Dustin is certainly a wild card, too. And a 20-hour plane ride is not the ideal way to start the week. Throw in the thoughtful, subtle challenges of Royal Melbourne to neutralize American bomb-and-gouge and I think this Presidents Cup is going to be pretty close. That in itself would count as an upset.
Why is the Euro Tour’s event in Saudi Arabia so controversial when the PGA Tour literally runs a satellite tour in China? Would we blast stars for playing the BMW PGA if Nigel Farage became Prime Minister? I guess my question is – where’s the line? [email protected]_Bortles
It’s an excellent question. As I’ve written before, the European Tour would more or less go out of business without all the lucre from petrocracies and other oppressive, authoritarian regimes. Long ago, the golf world collectively made its peace with the UAE and China, accepting that sport has always crossed borders and, hey, these countries are economic allies and trading partners to the U.S. and European nations. The new tournament in Saudi Arabia just seemed so…unnecessary. Culturally, the Kingdom is centuries behind places like Dubai and Shanghai, and its treatment of women is prehistoric. For Americans, Saudi Arabia will always stir strong emotions as the homeland of Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 9/11 hijackers. Hundreds of families who lost loved ones on 9/11 are still locked in litigation against Saudi Arabia, fighting to uncover the truth of its governments complicity in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 Americans. And then there is the more recent assassination of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, who had been living in the U.S. So when an American star like Phil Mickelson jilts what used to be his hometown tournament to scoop up millions of dollars to help launder Saudi Arabia’s reputation, well, there is going to be blowback.
#AskAlan Is Phil done? [email protected]
One underrated aspect of Mickelson’s decision to go to Saudi Arabia is the surplus of World Ranking points available because so many other top players have been bought off. Phil is currently 58th in the World Ranking and has to fight his way back into the top 50 if he is going to guarantee himself a spot in the WGCs. It’s hard to remember but it was this calendar year that he won at Pebble Beach. It’s too soon to say Phil is done but he has to show a lot more focus and fire before we consider him a threat again.
What would the response be if Tiger pegged it in Saudi Arabia? [email protected]
He’s always been a mercenary, so I don’t think it would be a big deal. Phil is the one who likes to tell people he voted for Obama, so that’s part of the disconnect here — a socially liberal Californian who has never liked to play overseas suddenly propping up a brutal regime far, far from the gilded streets of Rancho Santa Fe.
In the spirit of giving/charity/Christmas, what are the best causes (#SaveSharpPark, etc), movements, and golf charities that people should consider donating to? [email protected]
Sharp Park is an evergreen good cause. SaveMuny.com is fighting to preserve the beloved Lions Golf Course in Austin. Saving Goat Hill is a passion project for many fine folks who care about the soul of the game. But for a more national cause that touches many lives I would recommend donating to Youth On Course. It allows kids to play excellent courses across the country for only a couple of bucks. The only way we’re really going to save this great game is by getting the next generations to fall in love with it, and Youth On Course is the most effective organization promoting that goal.
