Tony Jacklin Praises Phil Mickelson For Saudi Golf League Stance

DOUBLE major winner Tony Jacklin has praised Phil Mickelson for the stance he has taken against the PGA Tour. And the man who helped to transform the Ryder Cup has expressed his fears that any bans imposed by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour on players who opt to take part in the Saudi-backed Super League could spell the death death knell for what has become golf’s greatest team event.

In a wide-ranging interview, Jacklin, who was speaking on behalf of BoyleSports golf betting, also rejected Rory McIlroy’s suggestion that the proposed Saudi Golf League is dead in the water.

Mickelson has announced that he is taking a break from the game after accusing the PGA Tour of greed and describing the Saudis as dangerous “mother******s”. He has been widely criticised by many leading figures in the sport, but not Jacklin.

The former Open and US Open champion said: "The tour has made a big effort since Mickleson's comments, injecting more money into various things. If Phil was genuinely trying to get the PGA Tour off its backside to do more for the players than they have been doing, then it's potentially a masterstroke, albeit one where he's had to take a reputational hit personally. They've already come up with umpteen millions more dollars, so perhaps he was catching their attention. All these things take time to play and I believe we are a long way from the end.” 

While many leading figures have been deeply critical of the Saudi Arabian attempt to set up a breakaway tour, Jacklin believes it remains an attractive proposition. 

He said: "I'd definitely hear out the Saudis. Personally, I hope it gets accommodated in some guise. I think it's hard to ignore when there is such serious money on the table, as well as certain aspects on how to change the spectacle of golf as entertainment being undeniably attractive. Greg Norman has made a huge commitment towards it, and starting something up in the current world climate is tough. It is inevitable that it was going to get this attention and people would instantly take sides - and remember, it's still just a concept! I'm not sure they can physically stop players playing in other tournaments, so I wouldn't be surprised if lawyers become involved in that respect."

And he believes McIlroy’s claim that the project is doomed to failure is wide of the mark.

Jacklin said: "Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups, so I would never assume that it was 'dead in the water' like Rory McIlroy said, just because five or six people have come down in favour of the tour. This has a long way to go yet. They have signed up a lot of very smart people, whether it's TV execs, rules people, people who deal with commercial entities etcetera. We'd be foolish to think it's dead in the water just because a handful of people don't agree with it. 

"So many golfers these days are pretty set - they can make their minds up on what they want to without any worries. I fully understand someone like Lee Westwood, a bloke in his late forties, seeing a Saudi arrangement attractive. So the Saudi tournament has some attractive elements to it - not just the money, but the time element, the matchplay element, the team element. All things which might spice the entertainment up around golf. I hope it can create more opportunities and less animosity amongst the game's biggest names.

"Rory is well respected everywhere he goes, he is highly intelligent and speaks from the heart and has a platform to speak his mind in his position as chairman of the Player Advisory Council. When he speaks, he has to think first. He does not take things for granted. 

"He has firmly come down on the side of the PGA Tour as a man who has always set out to win majors and stay on safe ground, not upset the apple cart, especially with him being close to the commissioner. But I would say that as a man worth as much as he is, money is no object for him. He has no reason to have his head turned by Saudi Arabia, as he explained in the week, but perhaps he should understand those who do.”

Golf Fans React to Saudi Golf League Proposals

Jacklin is bemused by the vast sums today golfers can earn. He collected a cheque for £4,250 for winning The Open at Royal Lytham in 1969.

"I wish I had been born 50 years later,” the Englishman said. "You're looking at a guy, in me, who never had $1million in the bank. I was playing for $20,000 first prizes. I won The Open, I got £4,250. On the European Tour, there were £2,000 first prizes. You're talking about players who get offered $30-50million, it's La-La-Land. I see golfers on the PGA Tour who've never won a tournament but have made over $10m in prize money, which is ludicrous. People are swilling around in opportunities. The money in the game is quite baffling for me as a player from a former era. 

"Golf does reward mediocrity too much at the moment. Unless you're butting heads with the best players on a continuous basis, you're going to take your foot off the gas. That is just human nature. So players will need to be pushed, they will need inspiration from their team. Then marry that in with the Saudi deal, where there are more opportunities to not win. No cut, three rounds, only have to play 14 times, earning more money than you know what to do with... golfers will be intrigued by all this as an alternative, if they do not have big aspirations."

Threat to Ryder Cup

It has been widely rumoured that PGA Tour and DP World Tour golfers who sign up with the Saudis will be banned from playing in the Ryder Cup, and could also be prevented from playing in the majors. Jacklin believes this would be a backward step and believes that if it happens the Ryder Cup could die.

He said: "One of the things that hasn't been said is how the outcome of the Ryder Cup moves forward in the shadow of this. If people are going to be blacklisted from a Ryder Cup for playing in the Saudi Series, it is going to spell the sad death of the Ryder Cup. We've always had the 12 best from Europe and America, and let me tell you as a four-time captain, for the tournament to maintain its status as the pinnacle of golf, you need the best of the best taking part and available.

"It's a serious deal and all of a sudden if certain top players aren't there who deserve to be there on ability, it would be tantamount to a glorified exhibition match. Nobody wants that. We have had so much emotion, nail biting finishes and tears shed over the past decades, it would be a shame to see that end on a point of stubbornness. You cannot invent the passion which comes with the Ryder Cup, and all the emotion that goes into it. Once you start leaving people off a team due to alterior factors, you are going to lose that truth and the heart of the sport's best competition.

"Lee Westwood is the obvious next Ryder Cup captain, but he wants to see if he could make another team as a player. Even though naturally it would be his turn, I don't think Lee wants to do it and he may never get the chance again. Was he already being wooed by this Saudi thing, who knows? But then if you don't look at Lee, Henrik Stenson is an obvious front runner. But no statements have been made there because he is also reportedly being wooed by Saudi Arabia. So now it's Luke Donald in the hot seat, who is a wonderful guy with a lot of experience of winning Ryder Cups. He's got all the credentials. There are lots of cabs waiting to go off the rank, it's different to 40 years ago with a lot of deserving guys. In the next two times, Ian Poulter has to get his chance to be captain - there's no doubt about that.”

It was also interesting to see Paul Lawrie post on Twitter in response to Zach Johnson’s imminent appointment as the next US Ryder Cup captain: “I hear that a Scottish guy was in for it.” Lawrie is a former Open champion and has played in the Ryder Cup twice. His appointment as European captain may be a surprise but it would be no less than he deserves.

The Masters

It is barely a year since Tiger Woods nearly died in a horrific car crash. Woods is still recovering from the injuries he received and has steered clear of giving any indication as to when he may be able to compete again, but Jacklin says he won’t be surprised to see Woods playing in The Masters in April. 

He said: "It looks to me like Tiger is making good progress. I think personally that he is downplaying a lot of it. He alluded that walking the course is a lot for him right now, but it would not surprise me one bit to see him walking up and down the fairways of Augusta National in early April. That being said, Augusta is deceivingly up hill and down dale so it'd be tough for sure. Tiger has by necessity has had to keep a lot of cards close to his chest over the years, but he has such a strong mind that if there's any way he can be there, he will be. 

"You can bet your life that if he turns up somewhere, he will have put the time in. He won't turn up anywhere if he doesn't think he can win, so I would not be at all surprised to see him rock up on the first tee at Augusta in six weeks time. It's an opportunity on a course he knows and loves. You have to keep your head around there, and his mental strength is unmatched. So if he can physically walk around there, I think we could see him. I certainly think we will see him at The Open at St Andrews in the summer. Let's just hope he has got himself a full time chauffeur now!

"There is nobody I would rather see win The Masters this year than Rory so he can complete the grand slam - but he'll definitely need his putting to get more consistent. I always say at Augusta that it is impossible to see who is looking good until the end of the first round when they have mentally and physically adjusted.”

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