Former world number two, Phil Mickelson was hilariously heckled about his ties to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family as he teed off at the controversial LIV Golf event.
Perhaps one of the most high-profile names to switch to the Saudi Arabian-backed tour, the American was set to make his first tee of the day when he was met with some choice words.
One man decided to hit him with a reality check as he was making his back swing at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.
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The heckler yelled: “Do it for the Saudi Royal Family.”
The interruption clearly threw Mickelson off as he proceeded to walk away from the ball and again practice his swing.
The heckler in question was Jason Selvign, who is one part of the satirical comedy duo The Good Liars, who have a knack for getting under the skin of Republicans.
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The duo posted the video to their Twitter account with Selvig narrating the scenes in front of him.
Following the heckle, there seemed to be many disgruntled spectators annoyed with Selvig’s comments, whilst a security guard walked over and warned him that he will be escorted out if he continues in that manner.
LIV Golf has become an easy target for The Good Liars, simply because of the ties to the Saudi Royal Family and the money involved with getting players to jump ship from the PGA Tour.
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At one point in the video, Selvig says: “Right there behind me is Phil Mickelson, the face of this new golf league that is backed by the Saudi government. $100 million was all it took for him to come here, and I guess, forget about that journalist that was chopped up by the Saudi government.”
Selvig also attempted to bring in a sign that read ‘Quiet please’, obviously for golfing reasons, but there may have been a little tidbit that may have prevented organisers from permitting the sign into the event.
Underneath the ‘Quiet Please’ remarks, a statement read: “About the murder of Jamal Khashoggi ordered by the Saudi Royal Family.”
These particular remarks have been aimed at Mickelson after he has copped a hefty amount of criticism for his decision to join the league despite condemning the Saudi Royal Family earlier this year.
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In an interview with The Fire Pit Collective, Mickelson had called the Saudis ‘scary motherf***ers’ who had killed Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and touched on the country’s deplorable human rights records.
However, stated he was still interested in using the LIV Tour opportunity as leverage against the PGA Tour.
His comments sensationally backfired, leading to the loss of sponsorships and Mickelson announcing he’d be taking time away from golf.
He returned for the LIV Golf Invitation London on June 9 and was subsequently suspended by the PGA Tour.
Jayden Collins