TULSA, Okla. — Tiger Woods already had planted his flag firmly in the ground in support of the PGA Tour with regard to the rival Saudi golf league’s attempted infringement and his disagreement with Phil Mickelson’s recent comments denigrating the Tour for its “obnoxious greed.”

But on Tuesday, two days before the start of the PGA Championship, Woods pushed that flag further into the turf when asked about Mickelson not being at Southern Hills to defend the PGA Championship he won last year.

Mickelson, 51, hasn’t played a tournament in three months and has been in self-exile since issuing an apology statement in February.

“It’s always disappointing when the defending champion is not here,” Woods said. “Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the Tour have pushed back against. And he’s taken some personal time, and we all understand that.

“Some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, [there’s] been a lot of disagreement there,” Woods went on. “But…as a professional, we miss him being out here. I mean, he’s a big draw for the game of golf. He’s just taking his time and we all wish him the best when he comes back. Obviously, we’re going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the Tour, and we’ll go from there.”

Asked if he was “surprised” how things have “escalated” in the wake of the Mickelson comments, Woods said, “Yeah, it has ramped up very quickly. If this would have happened 30 years ago, 20 years ago, it wouldn’t have happened as fast. But social media has changed the landscape and how fast things can ramp up, whether it’s real news or fake news or whatever it is. Opinions get out there instantly.

“It can sway very quickly one way or the other. What we are seeing right now in society, it’s very bipolar. There’s really no middle ground, you stand one way or the other. It’s very polarizing. And the viewpoints that Phil has made with the Tour and what the Tour has meant to all of us has been polarizing as well.”

Asked if he believes Mickelson needs to “resolve” the disagreement with the PGA Tour, Woods said, “I don’t know if he has to resolve it or not. He has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going. I have my viewpoint how I see the game of golf, and I’ve supported the Tour and my foundation has run events on the Tour for a number of years.

“I just think that what Jack [Nicklaus] and Arnold [Palmer] have done in starting the [PGA] Tour and breaking away from the PGA of America and creating our tour…there’s a legacy to that. I’ve been playing out here for a couple of years over decades, and I think there’s a legacy do it. I still think that the Tour has so much to offer, so much opportunity.

“I understand different viewpoints, but I believe in legacies. I believe in major championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There’s plenty of money out here. The Tour is growing. You have to go out there and earn it. You’ve got to go out there and play for it. We have opportunity to go ahead and do it. It’s just not guaranteed up front.”

Woods said he has not reached out to Mickelson or spoken to him during his time away.

“A lot of it has not to do with … personal issues, it was our viewpoints of how the Tour should be run and could be run and what players are playing for and how we are playing for it … I have a completely different stance on,” he said. “I don’t know what he’s going through. But I know the comments he made about the Tour and the way that it should be run, it could be run and all the different financials that could have happened … I just have a very different opinion on that. So no, I have not reached out to him.”