PHIL MICKELSON yesterday confirmed he will not be participating in the Race to Dubai this season but insisted he would be "honoured" to be involved in the European Tour in the future.

Speaking in Singapore, the American said his schedule for 2009 did not allow him to commit to the European Tour, but the Race to Dubai fitted in well with his future plans.

"I have thought about it (European Tour membership) but I did not take it up for '09. If I did, it would have been before last week's event (the HSBC Champions)," said the 38-year-old.

"It wasn't quite right for me time-wise, but I have still made a commitment to play more golf internationally and I do believe that it's very possible that, in the near future, it will be in my plans.

As I play more throughout the world it would be a natural fit to be a part of the Race to Dubai."

The three-time major winner was full of praise for the European Tour and indicated he would be more than happy to be part of it.

"I think that the European Tour is making great strides in their individual events," he added.

"There is a high quality to the events as well as the Tour as a whole. They've been able to maintain a number of their top players and have a great product to present.

"It would be an honour for me to be a part of it. It just didn't work out for me this year but I wouldn't rule it out for the near future.

"I haven't set a time schedule. I thought that I might do it for '09 but it's just the way that some little things worked out, it wasn't quite right yet.

"But again, I'm not going to commit to doing it in 2010 because I don't know what's going to happen over the next 14 months. But if a couple of things happen here or there, it would help to make it all fit."

Mickelson lost his world number two ranking to Sergio Garcia after finishing tied for eighth in Shanghai, but is not too concerned at being seen as the world's best golfer after Tiger Woods. "It's not really something that I really think about," Mickelson said.

"What I'm more concerned about is playing well here. Last year I came here to Singapore with high expectations because I was playing well and wanted to perform well at this event.

"The world rankings will fluctuate and that's not something I've spent much time thinking about. I think that if I play well, the world ranking, the money list and all those other things will take care of itself."

The gap between Woods and the rest has narrowed since the world number one underwent knee surgery in the summer but Mickelson is looking forward to his return from injury in the new year.

"The reason why we all want Tiger back is because he drives the game of golf," Mickelson said.

"He drives television ratings, the sponsors need him in their events and the fans turn out to see him, so we need him back as soon as possible.

"He does so much for us on a national level in the United States and on an international level throughout the world, and we all miss him and want him back soon."