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Phil Mickelson’s first visit to the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan, wasn’t everything he wanted it to be.
Beyond Mickelson’s flat T74 in his final tournament before the Open Championship, his week was disrupted by an unflattering newspaper article that led the six-time major champion to say he will not return to the tournament, only to later leave the door open on a possible return.
Ultimately, Mickelson and his wife, Amy, made a $100,000 donation to a Detroit-area charity and he challenged local fans to meet a 50,000-person petition goal to assure his return to Detroit Country Club in the future.
The turbulence began when The Detroit News ran a story detailing a relationship between Mickelson and a local bookmaker, who handled big-money wagers for the golfer years ago. Based on testimony from 2007, Don DeSerrano admitted to not paying Mickelson $500,000 he owed him.
Mickelson was not accused of wrongdoing but DeSerrano, who had Las Vegas connections, was being investigated for his ties to organized crime.
Mickelson was upset that the story came out more than a decade after it happened and was timed with his first appearance in the Detroit event. Asked on Thursday about the story, Mickelson said it would keep him from returning.
“It was so much effort for me to be here and to have that type of unnecessary attack. Not like I care, it happened 20-something years ago, it's just the lack of appreciation,” he said. “Yeah, I don't see that happening. I don't see me coming back.”
One day later, a petition was created to convince Mickelson to return. He said if 50,000 people signed the petition promising an equal number of “random acts of kindness” he would return to play next year.
During the final round Sunday, a plane flew overhead with the banner, “Phil, come back in 2022.”
“I enjoyed my time here,” Mickelson said before heading to Montana where he will play a televised exhibition match with Peyton Manning against Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau on Tuesday night.
Ron Green Jr.