World No 5 called Americans naive, selfish, arrogant" and "ignorant" for his comments last week.
Mickelson's comments last week came to the fore about Saudi Arabia's willingness to ignore human rights violations and will join the newly proposed format for leverage on the PGA Tour.
Absolutely insane quote from Phil Mickelson here pic.twitter.com/WanxRma2aR
— harry breitner (@HarryTellsJokes) February 17, 2022
Mickelson sat down with golf writer and author Alan Shipnk in November for a book titled 'Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unofficial!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar' and said:
Mickelson Said 'They're Scary To Be Involved With Scary Mother*****
“They killed [Washington Post reporter and US resident Jamal] Khashoggi and he has a terrible record on human rights. They kill people there because they are gay. Knowing all this, why should I even think about it? Because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reshape the way the PGA Tour operates.
Fans and fellow players reprimanded the 51-year-old for his stand. One of those players was McIlroy, speaking after the final round of the Genesis Invitational.
Irishman thinks Mickelson will reconsider his position after backlash,
'I don't want to kick someone while he's down, obviously, but I thought they were nave, selfish, arrogant, ignorant.
'It was very surprising and disappointing. sad. I am sure he is sitting at home reconsidering his position and where does he go from here.'
McIlroy also believes the Breakaway Tour plans are 'dead in the water' due to a lack of golfing talent.
McIlroy was also asked about a possible ending to the SGL
"Yeah, yes. Who's left? Who's left to go?
"I mean, there isn't any. In my opinion it's dead in the water. I can't find any reason why anyone would."
Some of the best in the world have pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour, including Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, who dealt a major blow to the SGL on Sunday.
McIlroy said, 'I'm really glad to see those statements by DJ and Bryson this week.
'We all want to play against the best players in the world and they are definitely two of the best players in the world and it's good to know that they are committed to playing here and making this the best tour in the world.'