Mickelson losing more corporate deals

Already down two corporate endorsements, Phil Mickelson and his foundation were removed from the PGA Tour event in the California desert as the fallout continued over his shocking remarks and involvement in a Saudi-funded rival league.

The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, California, reported The American Express no longer will have the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation as its main charitable arm, and that Mickelson no longer will be the tournament host.

The PGA Tour said it would have no further comment except to confirm Mickelson is no longer involved.

The move comes after the release of an interview where Mickelson said in an interview that despite believing that Saudi Arabia was guilty of human rights abuses, he sought to use the breakaway league as leverage in his efforts to change the PGA Tour.

Saudi Arabia's government denies accusations of human rights abuses.

Mickelson's comments drew immediate backlash from golfers including Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

The rival league suffered a big blow last week when none of the top 12 players in the world indicated an interest in joining for guaranteed riches.

The 51-year-old Mickelson offered an awkward statement Tuesday in which he conceded his comments were "reckless" but not meant to be shared.

He also apologised to Greg Norman's LIV Golf Investments for anything taken out of context and referred to them as visionaries who, like him, want to make golf better.

Mickelson did not mention the PGA Tour or Commissioner Jay Monahan, which he referred to in the Shipnuck interview as a "dictatorship".

He said he "desperately needs" time away to get his priorities in order.

KPMG was the first organisation to announce it was immediately ending its corporate sponsorship with the