PGA Tour commish Jay Monahan wants to talk to Phil Mickelson

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he hasn't spoken to Phil Mickelson since his explosive comments about the tour were published last month, but Monahan said it's a conversation that will have to take place before the six-time major champion returns to play.

Mickelson isn't playing in the Players Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass after announcing two weeks ago that he was taking time away from golf «to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.»

Mickelson, 51, caused an uproar last month with his comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian financiers of the Super Golf League. Mickelson described the Saudis as «scary» but said he was looking past their controversial history of human rights violations to gain leverage with the PGA Tour.

«I think that as it relates to Phil, you said it: The ball is in his court,» Monahan said during a news conference on Tuesday. «He has said that he's stepping away and he wants time for reflection. That's something that I and we are going to respect and honor. When he's ready to come back to the PGA Tour, we're going to have that conversation. That's a conversation I look forward to.»

Monahan didn't wait for reporters' questions about the proposed breakaway league. He addressed it at the start of his opening statement, which included a veiled remark about Mickelson's comment that he didn't care if the SGL succeeded and was only using it as leverage against the PGA Tour.

«The PGA Tour is moving on,» Monahan said. «We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners and most importantly our fans from