Phil Mickelson Revives Feud With Jay Monahan & Exposes Own Mistreatment by PGA Tour: ‘Did Everything I Could..’
Phil Mickelson doesn’t want to leave any doubt over his contribution to the PGA Tour. Lefty in a recent conversation, spoke of his involvement in various sponsorship deals that the PGA Tour landed. Mickelson revealed he was ‘brought in’ to resolve a few stalemates.
His words, which are worth quoting in full, read: “For 30-plus years I did everything I could to help build the PGA Tour brand, and I would be brought in to help close the deal with many CEOs when they were on the brink of potentially signing a deal, whether it was Bob Diamond at Barclays, it was Rick Waddell at Northern Trust, it was the guys at Shell, Marvin Odom (sic). There were about seven to 10 times that I would come in and try to close the deal. That was my way to help trying to build the PGA Tour at that time. I’m no longer part of the Tour.”
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It’s not clear in what capacity Lefty was involved. The PGA Tour signed a deal with Barclays Capital, the London-based multinational investment bank, in 2004 to host ‘The Barclays’ in Westchester Country Club, New York. The original deal ran through in 2010, and the next year, the Tour decided on an extension for another five years. The tournament was the first of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
It should be noted that Phil Mickelson also sported the Barclays logo on the right side of his polo shirt. He was one of the biggest draws at the Barclays event each year. However, they parted ways in 2017, with Mickelson moving to Intrepid Financial Partners, which, interestingly, was founded by former Barclays executive Hugh “Skip” McGee.
On the other hand, the Northern Trust succeeded Nissan as the Los Angeles event sponsor. Lefty notably played with the CEO, Rick Waddell, as recently as the 2017 Northern Trust Pro-Am. Reportedly, Waddell waited for Mickelson as his rented private jet got delayed due to fog. The Riviera event is now a Tiger Woods-hosted signature event, Genesis Invitational.
Whereas, the PGA Tour signed Shell Oil as a sponsor of its Houston event in 1992. For 25 years, the Houston stop was known as the Shell Houston Open, which Phil Mickelson won in 2011. Lefty was also a common face seen around the greens on each occasion. Interestingly, in 2011, the Tour also signed a six-year extension with the London HQ company.
