A week of reckoning continued for Phil Mickelson who has stepped down as the host of The American Express, the Desert Sun reported.
Mickelson had served as host of the PGA Tour event since 2020 although he appeared disengaged at this year’s event where he didn’t hold a press conference and missed the cut.
The Tour confirmed to the Sun that neither Mickelson nor his foundation, which was formed in 2019 to be the charitable arm of the event, would be associated with the tournament. The foundation’s contract with the tournament was to run through 2024.
This comes a day after more of Mickelson’s sponsors distanced themselves from the 51-year-old. Late Friday, Callaway Golf announced plans to “pause” the company’s relationship with Mickelson and Workday announced it wouldn’t be renewing its contract with the six-time major winner, which ends in March.
Mickelson’s corporate partnerships began to unravel last week when he was quoted in a story on Firepitcollective.com, criticizing both the Tour and the Saudi-back super league, which he was rumored to be interested in.
On Tuesday, Mickelson released a lengthy apology to the super league and LIV Golf, the investment fund behind the rival circuit, but didn’t mention the PGA Tour.
Mickelson said he planned to take “some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.” There was also speculation that he’d been suspended by the Tour, although the circuit doesn’t comment on suspensions or disciplinary matters.
Mickelson hasn’t played on Tour since the Farmers Insurance Open in late January and he’s not in the field for next week’s Arnold Palmer.
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