The upcoming Phil Mickelson biography Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar already resulted in the Saudi Arabia scandal that ostracized Mickelson from the PGA and his peers. Now, it’s detailing issues he ran into years ago with gambling.
As part of author Alan Shipnuck’s deep dive into the iconic golfer and his rise to prominence, he also examined Mickelspn’s history and things he did away from the course. One such detail from an excerpt shared by FirePitCollective.com shows how Mickelson’s PGA victories at times had to make up for his gambling losses.
- Phil Mickelson net worth: $400 million
According to Shipnuck, an investigation into Phil’s financial records by government auditors as part of an inquiry into insider trading found that he lost more than $40 million gambling from 2010-’14. It came at a time when many estimates put Mickelson’s salary at around $40 million per year, not including taxes.
“Mickelson’s love of gambling is fundamental to understanding his style of play as a golfer. It might also explain the Saudi seduction. Based on his comments to me, he clearly enjoyed the idea of sticking it to the PGA Tour, but the real motivation was plainly the funny money being offered by the Saudis. Why was Phil so eager to cash in, at the risk of alienating so many fans and endorsement partners? The massive scale of Mickelson’s gambling losses has never before been made public.”
Alan Shipnuck, author of Phil Mickelson biography, on the golfer’s gambling history
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Phil Mickelson comments on Saudi Arabia and PGA Tour
Shipnuck’s latest reported revelation comes just months after Mickelson drew widespread criticism for his comments about the Audi Tour and Saudi Arabia. In February, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach obtained an excerpt from the upcoming book and posted Mickelson’s comments about using the Saudis as leverage against the PGA Tour.
“They’re scary motherf—ers to get involved with. … They killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Phil Mickelson to Alan Shipnuck on partnering with Saudi Arabia for Saudi Tour
The 51-year-old golfer immediately lost support from fellow PGA Tour competitors who previously were open to the Saudi Tour. He also faced immense criticism from PGA officials and lost multiple sponsors, including Workday, Heineken/Amstel and KPMG. Callaway also paused its partnership with Mickelson.
Mickelson wasn’t a part of the 2022 Masters, but he is registered for the 122nd U.S. Open (June 16-19).