Bishop: Mickelson’s Ryder Cup critique not new
Phil Mickelson’s pointed comments in the post-Ryder Cup news conference that indirectly criticised the captaincy of Tom Watson came as no surprise to deposed PGA of America president Ted Bishop.
In a Golf Channel interview on Tuesday morning in which he again apologised for his social media remarks last week that led to his ousting, Bishop said Mickelson’s comments did not shock him because the Hall of Fame golfer had expressed similar sentiments in July.
On the day prior to the Scottish Open, Mickelson and Bishop played together in the tournament pro-am.
Phil Mickelson publicly criticised Tom Watson’s methods after the Ryder Cup © Getty Images
“The message was totally consistent,” Bishop said. “It was a soliloquy on what he had told me in July. The only issue I had with what Phil said was the timing of when he said it and the venue and medium that he made his remarks in. And I told him this. I just thought those things should have been said behind closed doors to Tom or PGA of America officials, but that’s history. That’s over with.”
In the aftermath of a 16½-11½ US defeat that was their third loss in a row and sixth in the past seven Ryder Cups, a question was asked about what worked during the 2008 victory at Valhalla and what hasn’t since. Mickelson, who has played on 10 straight US teams, answered the question by praising Paul Azinger’s captaincy in 2008 and wondering why a similar system has not been used in the ensuing years.
“Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best,” Mickelson said.
Asked about player input, Mickelson said, “Nobody here was in [on] any decision.”
Those comments have led to a month of fallout.
Meanwhile, Ian Poulter’s recently released book No Limits had a section in which he was critical of his 2008 captain, Nick Faldo, as well as Watson, whose decisions last month he called “bizarre.”
Bishop took offence to both and was upset that anyone would call out two of golf’s legends. In posts on Twitter and on Facebook, Bishop likened Poulter’s comments to whining like a “little girl”. The PGA of America ultimately decided to remove Bishop from his last weeks of duty due to what it deemed to be sexist remarks.
“I really regret, like you can’t imagine, what I did and what I said, particularly the implication that came out of it,” Bishop said. “I think what I was really trying to say was, ‘Why don’t we all grow up?’
“I’m just old-school from the standpoint that I think icons in the game should be treated with a certain amount of reverence, and I felt like that didn’t happen necessarily with Tom after the Ryder Cup, and it wasn’t happening with Nick then.”
Bishop labelled Ian Poulter a “little girl” after the Englishman called Watson’s decisions at Gleneagles “bizarre” © Getty Images
Several anonymous sources disclosed a few days after the Ryder Cup that Mickelson’s public comments were in response to the way Watson handled the team at Gleneagles, and gave specific examples of his approach during a Saturday night team function attended by players, caddies and their spouses.
Since then, the PGA of America announced a task force that includes Mickelson to discuss issues to help with the US Ryder Cup effort in the future.
Bishop, who made the decision to bring Watson back for a second time – 21 years after the first – to captain the US team, said his emotions had been “building up” over the weeks since the US defeat.
His tenure as PGA of America president was set to end on November 22 at the PGA’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. The two-year term is a non-paid volunteer position.
Bishop, 60, is the director of golf at the Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Indiana. The PGA is an association of club professionals and counts some 27,000 members. The organisation also runs the PGA Championship.
As he did in an interview over the weekend with GolfWorld.com and again on Tuesday with Golf Channel, Bishop said he felt the penalty of removing him from office was not warranted.
The offending social media comments were posted on Thursday evening and later removed. Bishop said several people, including former LPGA star and current ESPN golf analyst Dottie Pepper, reached out to him, encouraging him to apologise and get out in front of his mistake. Pepper has a volunteer role with the organisation and Bishop said she even helped him craft an apology.
But PGA of America officials preferred that he say nothing until the situation was vetted internally, including a Friday afternoon conference call with the PGA’s board of directors.
“I apologised to the board, reiterated that I had very much wanted to make a public apology,” Bishop told GolfWorld.com. “And I said I don’t think the punishment fits the crime. And that doesn’t mean I don’t have remorse for what I did. Trust me, I abused my platform. I know I made a huge mistake. I’m the first to say that. I let my personal feelings for two guys get in the way, and I used a bad choice of words in trying to convey my frustration.”
GolfWorld.com reported that none of the 21 PGA board members sided with Bishop, and they asked for his resignation. He declined, so they removed him from office.
“I should have just apologised from the get-go,” Bishop said on Golf Channel.
“I created this mess,” he said. “It’s my fault. It’s not the PGA of America’s fault, it’s my fault. I don’t think the punishment fits the crime, but it is what it is and I have to accept that, and I’m not bitter about that in any way, shape or form.”
This article originally appeared on ESPN.com
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