美国国家公共电台 NPR--Phil Mickelson skips PGA championship after he made controversial comments

Phil Mickelson skips PGA championship after he made controversial comments

Transcript¹

Golf's PGA Championship gets underway Thursday in Tula, Okla., but defending champ Phil Mickelson won't be there after he made inflammatory comments about a new Saudi-backed golf tour.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Today in Tulsa, Okla., golf's PGA Championship gets underway without its defending champion. A year ago, then-50-year-old Phil Mickelson dazzled the sports world by winning the PGA and becoming the oldest player to win a major. But Mickelson remains² in a self-imposed exile from golf after making inflammatory comments about a new tour financed by money from Saudi Arabia. Joining me to discuss is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Hi, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE³: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: Good morning. So the PGA will be Mickelson's second straight no-show at a major championship. He withdrew from the Masters in April. Remind us what happened, what prompted this.

GOLDMAN: Well, I'll offer you a little background first. Phil Mickelson was talking to a writer about the LIV Golf Series - that's L-I-V - LIV Golf Series - backed by Saudi Arabia. It's seen as a competitor league to the long-running PGA Tour. It's offering huge prize money. And Mickelson supports it because he thinks it could create leverage⁴ for those like him who want changes on the PGA Tour - a tour, by the way, that's made Mickelson a very rich man. Now, critics say the LIV Series is another example of Saudi sportswashing, using sports to improve the image of an authoritarian⁵ nation. And Mickelson's comments to the author essentially⁶ acknowledge that. He said - and I'm quoting - "the Saudis are scary to get involved with. We know they killed Khashoggi" - talking about Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi murdered in 2018. And Mickelson continued, "they have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because" he said, "it's an opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

FADEL: And what was the reaction?

GOLDMAN: Anger from some fellow PGA pros⁷. Some of Mickelson's sponsors dropped him. So in February, after the comments came out, he apologized. He said in a statement his words were reckless and he would self-reflect and learn from it. He also said he needed time away from the game, and that's where he's at right now. Skipping the PGA makes him just the fifth major champion since 1960 to not defend a title and the only one to do so by choice.

FADEL: But this is pretty dramatic. I mean, Phil Mickelson has been a very popular champion, right?

GOLDMAN: Yeah, absolutely. You know, you go back a year to when he won the PGA, walking up the final fairway and hundreds of fans streaming onto the course following him, it was a scene reminiscent of when Arnold Palmer played and was so widely loved. Mickelson's connection to golf fans has been compared to Palmer's, a people's champion, kind of. And for him to have removed himself from all this, it is strange. Players gathered in Oklahoma for the PGA are saying it's sad and Mickelson should be there. He disagrees.

FADEL: Now, it must be big news because it's even overshadowing Tiger Woods. He's continuing his comeback from last year's serious car crash. What can we expect from Woods at the PGA championship?

GOLDMAN: Well, yeah, he made a dramatic comeback at the Masters last month. And at the end of that tournament, he was limping pretty badly on a leg doctors considered amputating after his crash. But this week, he said he's gained strength. The course in Tulsa isn't as hilly as Augusta, where the Masters was. Woods says he thinks he can win. He always says that. But he's still a long shot; not enough to scare one unnamed better in Las Vegas, though, who reportedly plopped down $20,000 in cash on Tiger, a win that will pay off a million-plus if Tiger wins. Is that bet crazy? We shall see.

FADEL: That's NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Thank you, Tom.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome, Leila.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

5 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》