Phil Mickelson may have accidentally thwarted PGA Tour's Saudi exodus as Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson pull out

Professional golf's mass Saudi exodus, which no more than five days ago appeared a fait accompli, is now suddenly on its last legs.

Or, as outspoken critic and firm holdout from the scheme Rory McIlroy put it, «it's dead in the water».

A lot has changed in a week. And the man who has placed himself at the centre of all these swirling developments is Phil Mickelson, who through a series of remarkable interviews and quotes seems to have inadvertently set the whole thing ablaze.

The context to all this is that Mickelson was among a group of players seemingly on the brink of signing contracts with a lucrative series of tournaments funded by the Saudi Arabian government and run by Greg Norman's LIV Golf company.

Last week, respected US golf writer Alan Shipnuck — more on him later — had suggested LIV Golf had secured commitments from enough players that a formal announcement of their identity was imminent.

Exactly which players were set to be involved was still largely a matter of conjecture and rumour, but the biggest names suggested were Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, both major winners in the prime of their careers.

Australian Adam Scott had given a winking answer last week, saying he was interested in the possibilities the schedule would allow for him and his family.

Then there were quotes from players like Ian Poulter, Charley Hoffman, Jason Kokrak and Lee Westwood, among others, that were a long way removed from the «no way, never» that most PGA Tour stars had offered.

But DeChambeau and Johnson were the big ones. If they went, the events would gain a gravitas that past-their-prime former stars simply could not provide.

All was in readiness for the revolution, it seemed. And then Shipnuck dropped the bomb.

He had been