Mickelson set to miss Masters for first time in 28 years

Phil Mickelson is set to miss The Masters for the first time in 28 years, after being removed from the list of competitors for next month's tournament.

The three-time winner has been listed as a "past champion not playing" on the tournament website.

Mickelson is currently taking a break from golf following the fall-out from his comments about the PGA Tour and a potential Saudi-backed rival circuit.

The 51-year-old six-time major winner has not played since the Saudi International tournament in February.

Mickelson has participated at Augusta National every year since 1994, having made his Masters debut in 1991, and won the green jacket in 2004, 2006 and 2010.

Mickelson announced towards the end of February he was taking a break from golf "to work on being the man I want to be".

He also apologised for his "reckless" comments about a proposed Saudi-backed breakaway league and said he would be stepping away from the sport.

Earlier in February, an author, Alan Shipnuck, of an upcoming unauthorised biography on Mickelson released excerpts from the book in which the golfer called the Saudis "scary" but said he was willing to look past their human rights records to gain leverage with the PGA Tour.

Saudi Arabia's government has denied accusations of human rights abuses.

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