Mickelson 'crushed' over news with Barclays

• By Jason Sobel
• Jul 4, 2012 2:30 PM ET

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Phil Mickelson has a sponsorship deal with Barclays and has partnered with former CEO Bob Diamond in team events, but the pro maintained Wednesday that his recent resignation won’t affect any sponsorship affiliation with the company.

“It won’t affect my relationship with Barclays from a business side,” Mickelson said during a news conference in advance of The Greenbrier Classic. “Well, not contractually, but business relationships are all about personal relationships as well, especially in that industry. So over the course of the next 4-5 years, which is where contractually we’re together, we’ll have different personal relationships being made.”

Following the news conference, Mickelson told one Golf Channel insider that he felt Diamond was being made a “scapegoat” for the Libor scandal that surfaced four years ago. He did not disclose whether he has been in touch with Diamond since his resignation.

“Personally I’m crushed because I have really enjoyed my time with Bob,” Mickelson continued in the news conference. “I think the world of him as a person, as a CEO, and I think that these last 5-6 years that I’ve been associated with the bank, the time I’ve spent with him, I’ve really enjoyed and I’ve cherished and it’s been one of the most interesting parts of my career.”

Mickelson first signed a multiyear endorsement contract with Barclays in 2008.