Mickelson will not defend his PGA Championship title.

Mickelson has decided to take a break from golf after making contentious statements about Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Golf League in February, accusing the PGA Tour of being greedy.

In 2021, Mickelson, a six-time Major Champion, won the PGA Championship. In the last 75 years, he is only the third PGA Champion to not defend his title.

“We would have invited him to participate,” the PGA Championship said in a statement on Twitter.

Mickelson registered for the Championship by the April 25 deadline, but his manager said he wasn’t sure if he’d play.

The 51-year-old has largely remained unnoticed since his last appearance at the Saudi International in September.

He indicated his conviction that the Saudi Golf League’s funding, which is said to have 48 players competing and acting as a rival to the PGA Tour, will help enhance the sport and that the money can be utilized to modify the PGA Tour’s nature.

“They’re scary… to get engaged with,” Mickelson stated.

We know they murdered [Jamal] Khashoggi and have a terrible human rights record. “They execute gay people over there.” Why would I ever consider it knowing all of this?