'If he is sincerely sorry ... he deserves a second chance': Golfers respond to Phil Mickelson's Saudi Arabia comments

By Matias Grez and David Close, CNN

Updated 1059 GMT (1859 HKT) February 24, 2022

Phil Mickelson during day three of the PIF Saudi International on February 5, 2022, in Al Murooj, Saudi Arabia.

(CNN)PGA Tour golfers, including Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger, have been discussing Phil Mickelson's recent comments on the reported Saudi-backed breakaway golf tour, the Super Golf League.

On Tuesday, six-time major winner Mickelson said comments he made regarding the reported tour were off the record — a claim the reporter who interviewed him has denied — and said they were shared out of context and without his consent.The Super League is reportedly a Saudi-backed venture that is attempting to attract golfers away from golf's main tours, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, with offers of big money.Last week, Mickelson was quoted from a 2021 interview with author Alan Shipnuck for his upcoming book, «Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar,» as saying that he would consider joining the proposed Super League because it is a «once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.»Golfer Phil Mickelson apologizes for comments over reported Saudi-backed tour while saying they were off the record Shipnuck quoted Mickelson as saying disparaging things about Saudi Arabia's human rights record and asserting that the kingdom killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Read MoreFour-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Berger says Mickelson «deserves a second chance» if he is remorseful about his comments.«I don't know much about the whole Phil, Saudi thing. I try not to pay attention it,» he said. «I just think it's kind of like noise, but my experience with Phil in the past has been good