Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson are far from friends. But after Singh was called a “complete turd” for entering a developmental tour event, Mickelson sprung to his peer’s defense.
Mickelson delivered his take on Twitter in response to a discussion by Golf Channel’s Morning Drive crew on if Singh should be allowed to take a spot at a Korn Ferry Tour event or not.
It’s no secret VJ and I aren’t close, but I’d like to say on his behalf that in addition to being a member of the HofF, he’s a big part of the PGA Tour’s success which financially subsidizes, and always has, the KFT. He has earned the right to play when and where he wants.
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 8, 2020
“It’s no secret VJ and I aren’t close, but I’d like to say on his behalf that in addition to being a member of the HOF, he’s a big part of the PGA Tour’s success which financially subsidizes, and always has, the KFT. He has earned the right to play when and where he wants.”
Singh has been under fire for taking a spot away from an up-and-coming player scrapping to get onto the main tour. Mickelson’s argument is that Singh is a high-profile player who brought attention and fans to the PGA Tour, which in doing so helped fund the developmental tour for players to work their way up.
There’s also something to be said about the exposure the tour will get from having a Hall of Fame golfer compete at its first tournament back after the COVID-19 hiatus, which has left sports fans yearning for anything new to watch.
Singh, a three-time major champion, is on an early list to participate in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass in Florida next month, the first of the Korn Ferry Tour’s events in a revised season due to the COVID-19 crisis. The tour is developmental for golfers to attempt a PGA Tour card or regain it.
Singh, 57, is a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions for senior players. Because of his 34 lifetime wins on the PGA Tour he has a lifetime exemption to enter events, per the Golf Channel. But due to a restricted field and unique exemption category, he cannot play in the Charles Schwab Challenge that weekend of June 11-14.
Korn Ferry Tour golfer Brady Schnell ripped this decision in a series of tweets that were since taken down. He called Singh a “true piece of trash” if he accepts the money to play in the event and later called him a “complete turd” for taking points and money from a “young kid” trying to build a career.
He later walked it back, saying “piece of trash was too harsh” and he was too trigger happy on Twitter when he found out about the entrance.
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