TIGER Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon has called comments made about Phil Mickelson by the world number one’s caddie Steve Williams ‘‘deplorable’’.

New Zealander Williams made disparaging remarks about Mickelson in a newspaper interview at a charity event in his homeland over the weekend, bringing into the public domain once again the bitter rivalry that exists between the current world number three and Woods.

Harmon, who works with Mickelson after spending a decade closely associated with Woods, has hit out at Williams and is confident his comments do not reflect the opinions of his employer.

‘‘I can’t believe he said what he said,’’ Harmon admitted.

‘‘I think it’s deplorable that he would say something like that.

‘‘Golf is a game of honour and integrity and that was a very uncalled-for remark and I don’t think it’s a reflection of how Tiger thinks of Phil Mickelson.

‘‘Until I see Steve and have a conversation with him and find out why he said what he said I don’t really understand it.

“Phil Mickelson is one of the most popular players in the world, every bit as popular as Tiger Woods around the world.

‘‘He’s a nice guy, all the guys like Phil so I don’t know where Steve was coming from with that comment.

‘‘But personally I would assume he wishes he had never made it and I would love to have heard a recording of the conversation between him and Tiger after it came out in print.

‘‘Having worked with Tiger for 10 years, I can tell you he wouldn’t have been very happy with that.’’ Williams’ outburst came soon after Ireland’s Padraig Harrington talked publicly about his less than perfect relationship with Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia, but Harmon does not feel the game is in danger of losing its genteel reputation.

‘‘We really do have one of the purest forms of sport in the world,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s the only sport in the world where cheating isn’t normal, where players call penalties on themselves.

‘‘It’s an environment that we all play in and we all enjoy but it is very competitive.’’