For the first time in seven presidential terms, Phil Mickelson will not tee it up at Augusta National for the Masters in two weeks. Mickelson has played in the last 27 Masters, winning three and finishing in the top 10 across 15 events.
Mickelson is not among those presently in the 2022 Masters field, a source confirmed to CBS Sports on Monday. Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig first reported that Lefty is not among the names on the event's field list as displayed on the Masters website.
Mickelson has come under fire over the last few months for his intimate involvement with and comments surrounding the Saudi Arabian-backed Super Golf League. In the fallout from those comments, which Mickelson claims were off the record, Lefty lost many of his sponsorships and issued a lengthy statement in which he said he was going to step away from golf for a while.
"The past 10 years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level," Mickelson wrote. "I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be."
Many presumed that Mickelson would return at Augusta National as it is not run by the PGA Tour, which seemed to be the organization with which Mickelson's had the most grievances. Now, the wait for his return begins.
Mickelson has not played a PGA Tour event since Farmers Insurance Open in January and has not played anywhere since the Saudi International in February. He will be the reigning champion ahead of the PGA Championship when the second major of the year gets underway at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the end of May.
