At a pre-U.S. Open press conference on Monday, Phil Mickelson faced the golf media for the first time since he joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series, and was immediately faced with tough questions surrounding his motivations for joining the Saudi-financed tour.
Among the questions Mickelson was asked concerned the families of 9/11 victims who wrote to him and others playing on the LIV Tour protesting their participation. A reporter asked Mickelson what he would say to those families to explain his decision to play on the tour.
"I would say to everyone that has lost loved ones, lost friends on 9/11 that I have deep, deep empathy for them,’’ Mickelson said.