It’s no secret in golf that Phil Mickelson enjoys a spirited wager on and off the course. However, the eye-popping amount and seemingly reckless behavior of those bets is revealed in an upcoming book by a renowned professional gambler.
In excerpts from the autobiography “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk” by Billy Walters and first reported Thursday by Fire Pit Collective, Walters cites betting records and “two very reliable sources” in estimating that Mickelson lost upwards of $100 million while wagering $1 billion over the past three decades.
One of the most shocking accusations in “Gambler,” which is scheduled to be released August 22 (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, $35), is that Mickelson, who has acknowledged and received treatment for a gambling addiction, called Walters from Medinah Country Club during the 2012 Ryder Cup and asked Walters to place a $400,000 bet on the Americans to win. Walters reacted incredulously at the audacity of the request, telling Mickelson in declining to place the bet: “Have you lost your [expletive] mind?” and invoking the cautionary tale of disgraced former baseball star Pete Rose.
In 2017, Walters was convicted of insider trading in a $43 million scheme regarding the sale of Dean Foods stock, paid a $10 million fine and was sentenced to five years in federal prison. In early 2021, outgoing President Donald Trump commuted Walters’ sentence. Mickelson was investigated as a relief defendant and paid $1.03 million, including profit and interest. He was not charged criminally.
Mickelson, 53, a six-time major champion and one-time darling of the PGA Tour, accepted a reported nine-figure bonus to jump to Saudi-funded rival LIV Golf last year and has left a scorched-earth trail of criticisms of the PGA Tour in his wake.
In response to Walters’ allegations, Mickelson insisted late last week via a statement on Twitter that he “never bet on the Ryder Cup” and “never would undermine the integrity of the game,” but he stopped short of disclosing whether he wanted to place the wager.
It’s a good thing that he didn’t make that bet, as golf fans might recall, in light of the “Miracle at Medinah” in which the Europeans rallied from four points down entering Sunday singles for a stunning upset victory.
Rory McIlroy, who played a key role in that Medinah turnaround and will be a leader at next month’s match in Rome, took a jab at Mickelson and his Ryder Cup prospects.
“At least he can bet on the Ryder Cup this year,” McIlroy said, “because he won’t be a part of it.” READ MORE
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Professional Golfers’ Associations from around the world have united in opposition to the USGA and R&A proposal to mandate a limited-flight ball at elite men’s professional and amateur events in a response to the effects of increased distance in golf.
According to a memo obtained by GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard, the PGAs of America, Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Holland, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden oppose the model local rule, which would take effect in 2026 and not apply to recreational players. The response follows the PGA Tour’s recent opposition to the proposal. The comment period on the proposal ends today.
“We fear that the proposed changes could seriously interrupt the current momentum in the game and be fundamentally damaging and detrimental in the long run,” read the memo, which was signed by PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. READ MORE
One of the biggest changes in the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule, which was released Tuesday but previewed by Ron Green Jr. in the August 7 issue of Global Golf Post, concerns the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The long-running, celebrity-filled wintertime West Coast stop will cut its amateur field nearly in half, to 80 players, drop Monterey Peninsula from its three-course rotation and cut the pro-am to 36 holes on the Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill courses, with only the pros advancing to weekend play at Pebble Beach. It’s all part of the tournament’s elevation to “signature” status and a $20 million purse next year. READ MORE
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan met with players last week for the first time since his recent return from a five-week medical absence which he confirmed involved anxiety-induced “physical and mental health challenges.” Meeting with players at TPC Southwind, site of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Monahan reportedly offered little progress on the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. READ MORE
Andy Pazder, who worked for 35 years at the PGA Tour, abruptly resigned from his position as chief tournaments and competitions officer. READ MORE
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, anchors on European Ryder Cup teams in recent years, have secured spots on this fall’s team via the European points list, the DP World Tour announced. READ MORE
TAP-INS
A federal court judge ruled against Jack Nicklaus, upholding a New York State Supreme Court decision that bars the champion golfer from regaining control of his name and likeness in a dispute with a former business partner. READ MORE
Michael Thorbjornsen will not compete in this week’s U.S. Amateur nor in the Walker Cup in three weeks, citing a stress fracture in his back. Thorbjornsen, 21, a Stanford senior who enters the fall college season at No. 1 in the PGA Tour University ranking and is No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, wrote on Instagram: “My medical team has recommended a period of inactivity for the fracture to heal properly” but that he expects to be healthy this fall. READ MORE
The second course at Cabot Highlands in Scotland, which architect Tom Doak is designing, is expected to open for preview play in 2024 ahead of the course's debut in 2025. READ MORE
The Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst will host two USGA events, the 2030 U.S. Senior Amateur and the 2037 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the USGA announced. READ MORE
The U.S. Disabled Golf Open Championship will be played for a second consecutive year at PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The dates for the sixth adaptive golf event will be April 22-24, 2024. READ MORE
Royal Lytham & St. Annes will host the 2026 AIG Women’s Open, the R&A announced. The club on England’s Lancashire coast has hosted five Women’s Opens, most recently in 2018 when England’s Georgia Hall won. READ MORE
Topgolf Callaway Brands released its second-quarter earnings and reaffirmed its full-year revenue projections for 2023. READ MORE
Norman Drew, a renowned golfer from Northern Ireland who competed in the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and Canada Cup, died Sunday, according to the Belfast Telegraph. He was 91. Drew, a two-time Irish Amateur champion in the early 1950s, competed for Great Britain and Ireland in the 1953 Walker Cup and for Great Britain in the 1959 Ryder Cup before representing Ireland in the 1960 and ’61 Canada Cups, forerunner to today’s World Cup. Drew played 15 times in the Open Championship, with a career-best T15 in 1957. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon