Phil Mickelson said that the US golf industry is "stagnant" and that the international golf scene holds much more allure for professional golfers. -- PHOTO: AP
WORLD Number 2 Phil Mickelson has set his sights on joining the European Tour, where next season's prize money will be boosted by a staggering US$10 million, courtesy of the inaugural Dubai World Championship.
The left-handed American, who is headed here next month for the Barclays Singapore Open, told reporters in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the US golf industry is "stagnant" and that the international golf scene holds much more allure for professional golfers.
'Certainly the dollar weakening over the past few years has made the foreign currencies much stronger, making the purses much larger,' Mickelson noted.
'Also there's been a lot of international wealth being created and the US golf industry has been stagnant for quite some time so all of our growth has been occurring on a global basis.'
'As a professional golfer, we have to adapt to that and that means playing more internationally because that's where all the opportunities are.'
