CHASKA, Minn. — One day after delivering a criticism of 2004 Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson sought out Sutton on Thursday to apologize and attempt to clarify the comments he made.

Mickelson told The Post he “didn’t think I was being that harsh,’’ adding, “I wasn’t trying to criticize Hal. I thought Hal was a good captain. I was just trying to use an example of how important being prepared is.’’

But the backlash he got, as well as Sutton responding with his own criticism, quickly made Mickelson understand the firestorm he created.

“He and I have communicated,’’ Mickelson said of Sutton. “He knows how sorry I am that I brought that up. I never should have used a specific example and put him totally on the spot. I wasn’t thinking; I was trying to convey the importance of the captain and use a specific example. I never should have done that. I put him in an awkward situation.

“One of the things we really tried to do this year was to bring back the past captains and create this inclusive, family feel, and I made him feel unfortunately awkward and I’m really, really sorry about that. He’s a big part of the Ryder Cup family. We want to create this family environment, and I feel awful that I created that negativity. I’m so, so sorry.’’

The storm began when Mickelson, when asked Wednesday about the importance of a Ryder Cup captain, used the example of how Sutton paired him and Tiger Woods together on short notice for the 2004 matches and how ill-prepared Mickelson felt because of it.

“We were put in a position to fail,’’ Mickelson said.

Mickelson and Woods were beaten in both of their matches playing together, and that was seen as the linchpin to Europe’s 18.5-9.5 rout of the Americans that year.

Sutton, who is at Hazeltine this week with a number of other past captains, clearly was upset by Mickelson’s comments and lashed out at him.

“My God, somebody’s got to be the fall guy,’’ Sutton told Golfweek Magazine. “If it needs to be me, I can do that. If he wants to put the blame on me, then let him do it. The world saw what happened. I find it amusing that that’s an issue at the 2016 Ryder Cup. I think Phil better get his mind on what he needs to have it on this week instead of something that happened 12 years ago.”

In another interview with Golf Channel, Sutton criticized Mickelson for changing equipment shortly before that 2004 Ryder Cup.

“Phil created a lot of drama that week, if we remember, because he switched his clubs and his ball prior to that week,” Sutton said. “It was very self-serving for him to do that prior to the Ryder Cup in 2004. So, if he needs me to shoulder the blame for his poor play, I can do that.

“There’s a lot of controversy that follows Phil everywhere, I’ll leave it at that. He wasn’t even prepared with the ball that he brought to the tournament, much less Tiger’s. So, I think he needs to search his own soul a little bit.”