The pair turned down a combined $5.5m in appearance fees to tee it up in the Saudi International according to reports
McIlroy And Woods Turn Their Backs On Saudi International
It's a momentous week for sport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the high-profile World Heavyweight Championship rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jnr in Diriyah.
An insider said: “It doesn’t matter what they’d offered, Rory was going to say no anyway.”
The $2.5m appearance fee would have been Rory's biggest-ever, but it wasn't enough to persuade him to leave his PGA Tour pursuits with his schedule almost certainly going to be US-only until the end of May for the Irish Open.
“I just don’t want to go over there,” the 15-time Major winner said. “It’s a long way.”
"After turning down opportunities to go to the Middle East for many years, I’m excited to go play and see a place in the world I’ve never been. I understand those who are upset or disappointed. You’ll be ok. I’m excited to experience this for the first time," he said.
Tiger Woods was asked about Mickelson's decision to tee it up in Saudi, with the 15-time Major winner saying, “I understand the politics behind it.
“But also the game of golf can help heal a lot of that, too. It can help grow it.
“And also a lot of top players are going to be playing there that particular week.
“It’s traditionally not a golf hotbed, the Middle East. But it has grown quite a bit.”
