Mickelson defends Tiger's tournament

Phil Mickelson vigorously backed Tiger and Tiger's ability to call his shots on the format of his tournament, even if an "invite only" event.

"I think it's important for the Tour to be in Washington," he said. "I think it's important for the Tour to have a very strong relationship with Tiger, and that tournament does both. And I think that we shouldn't be narrow-sighted on the fact that Tiger creates so much excess revenue for the Tour. All of the excess revenue from the Tour goes to support those tournaments, and most of that money is driven by Tiger. So you're looking at 450 spots that Tiger is creating. If we look at the big picture, he does a heck of a lot more with his tournament, and his involvement, for the game of golf. I think we need to be real careful on that."

Meanwhile, Tiger said that no final decision had been made on the format. More from USAToday.