Background & Early Career
Phil Mickelson was born in San Diego but raised in Scottdale, Arizona. He has European descent, or more particularly, his mother is Italian, while his father has Portuguese origin. However, the person who inflamed his golf passion was his grandfather, Alfred Santos. Alfred was a caddie at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, and when Phil was visiting him, they were always practising on the golf course.
Interestingly, Phil Mickelson, known by his nickname – the Lefty, plays golf with the left hand, but otherwise, he is righthanded. This is because his father plays with the left hand, and Phil was coping with his moves when learning how to play, so he got used to swinging with the left hand. Strictly under his father’s influence, Phil started playing before he even went to school. The fact that he was a pilot allowed Phil to travel quite often to California and play.
| 📛 Full Name: | Philip Alfred Mickelson |
| 🐧 Nickname: | Lefty |
| 🌎 Nationality: | United States |
| 🚼 Born: | 16th of June 1970 |
| 👴🏻 Age: | 50 |
| 🏠 Lives in: | San Diego, California |
| 🏆 Major Championships Won: | 5 |
| 🏌️♂️ Professional Wins: | 54 |
| 💲 Net Worth: | $400 million |
Phill graduated from the San Diego High school and then attended Arizona State University with a golf scholarship. Even as a freshman, he quickly became the rising star of the amateurs. He was able to win three NCAA championships showing perfect performance. For that reason, he took the Haskins Awards in 1990, 1991, and 1992, which was another massive achievement for the young Phill Mickelson.
Another interesting fact about Phill Mickelson’s story is that he is the first left-handed player to win the US Amateur championship titles. As an amateur in college, he was able to win over 16 tournaments. For several years he was able to make his name and start a professional career in 1992.
Professional Golf Player Career & Other Achievements
This is where the real adventure begins for Phil Mickelson. He proved he is good enough to play in the big leagues. In 1992 Phil hired Jim Mackay for his caddie, which was a great decision that helped him win many tournaments in the following years like the Byron Nelson Golf Classic(1996), World Series of Golf(1996), AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am(1998), Colonial National Invitation(2000), and Greater Hartford Open(2001 and 2002).
Another major win, more as a personality and a rising pro player, was the one against Tiger Woods in 2000 on the Buick Invitational. This was one of the many times in the Phil Mickelson story when he showed the public that he has a bright future in the PGA. The fans back then were expecting great wins from Phil, and that is exactly what they got.
In 2004 he won the first significant victory in his career – the Master’s tournament. In 2005 was the second major tournament win – the PGA Championship Baltusrol. This is far from everything. In 2006, he won the Masters tournament for a second but not last time because he did it once again in 2010.
2011 was not a good year for Phil because he achieved only one win on the Shell Houston Open and lost another two tournaments. Maybe that was because, in 2010, he was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, and he was still adjusting to his treatment and new lifestyle as a vegetarian.
- Major Championships – 5
- Players Championships – 1
- World Golf Championships – 2
- Tour Championships – 3
- Other Professional Golf Association Tours – 33
The beginning of 2012 was no different. He lost the first two tournaments, but the third one on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am marked his 40th PGA victory. This win was followed by a streak of loses until he won his 41st PGA Tour victory in 2013. The same year he won his 5th major tournament – the Scottish Open Tournament.
In the period between 2014 and 2016, Phil Mickelson changed his old-time coach with the idea that he needs a new approach to reach new heights. He needed some time to adapt and change his ways, or at least this is our explanation for the poor performance these two years. 2017 was no good for Phil, too, because he needed a sports hernia surgery. The reduced training programme reflected on his performance that year.
Next year, 2018, Phil Mickelson marked his first win since 2013, ending one awful winless streak by becoming the new WGC champion. This was his 43rd professional win. Phil missed his chance on the US Open that year, but he won the pay-per-click event against Tiger Woods called Capital’s One The Match. In 2019 he scored another PGA win on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament.
2020 was a strong year for Phil Michelson, even though this was his 50th anniversary. He won the Charles Schwab Series and the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Phil Mickelson’s story shows that age is just a number, and that will and dedication can lead you to victory.
Phil Mackelson Gambling Debts & Problems
Many people state that the Phil Mickelson gambling problems are real. Yes, but none are 100% proved because that will automatically lead to his ban from all PGA events. The rulebook says that players cannot be associated with any gambling because that could reflect on their gameplay. However, there are many stories about Phil Mickelson gambling debts and problems, some of which sound quite real, but as we said before, none are proved true. It is known Phil trades with stocks and other goods but does he gamble? We can’t be sure, but here are some of the stories circulating around!
Interesting Phil Mickelson Gambling Stories
We decided that it will be a good idea to tell you about some of the Phil Mickelson gambling rumors that you can encounter online. We agree that some sound quite suspicious and realistic, but only Phil knows if they are true or not. Usually, all pro players from all sports are restricted from sports betting, but not entirely from gambling.
Phil Mickelson & the Super Bowl in 2001
This is a known fact that back in 2001, Phil Mickelson participated in a collective bet, before the tournament, on the Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl. The actual odds were 28 to 1, but guess what? Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl that year, and the group got over half a million American dollars, $560,000 if we have to be more precise.
The same year, the same group of punters made another impossible bet(38:1), and they won again – Arizona Diamondbacks became the 2001 MLB World Series Champions. Such amounts could be considered as Phil Mickelson gambling money.
Dean Foods Shares Trading
This is definitely not the Phil Mickelson gambling story that you expect to read, but it is a big black spot on his career. He was suspected in a financial scheme related to a trade with shares. The facts tell us that he purchased a huge amount of shares days before the upcoming Dean Foods spin-off announcement.
From this purchase, he earned over $900,000, which some believe were used to cover Phil’s gambling debt to Billy Walters. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided that Phil Mickelson is not guilty of anything, but he also agreed to return all the purchase profit. Overall, the Phil Mickelson trading scandal is an interesting moment from the golfer’s life.
Phil Mickelson in St. Andrews, UK
Phil Mickelson is known for his risky, bold moves, excellent skills and immense confidence. The following story tells that he could be kind of rude if he wants to. In 2010 he was in St. Andrew, the UK, where he had a playing session with Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson.
At the beginning of the game, Phil decided to raise the stakes and offer a bet – the worst score pays the best one a thousand bucks. As you can guess, Mickelson won the game, but when Watney handed him $1000, Phil said that this is Britain and he must pay him in pounds($1700). By many, this act was considered disrespectful.
The Tin Cup Bet
There are several stories about Phil Michelson betting with the public or the rest of the players on the field. The story that we will tell you now happened at the shooting of the movie ‘Tin Cup’. Everything started when someone told Phil that he wouldn’t be able to hit the ball, so it goes over the tall pine tree nearby.
The ball supposed to go straight up, and let’s say that many of the people around believed it is an impossible shot. The collected pot from all bystanders was approximately 12 hundred dollars. This is one of the stories where you can see how confident and cocky Phil Mickelson really is. The moment he hit the ball, he just took the money and put them in his pocket without even waiting for the ball to drop. But do you consider this as Phil Mickelson gambling money?
Conclusion
All the information about Phill Mickelson gambling debts and problems is quite conferential, that is for sure. A clear fact about him is that he is a competitive person, always looking to be on top. When taking all of that into consideration, it is not that hard to believe that he could be involved in secretive betting or gambling.
Since the law proves nothing as illegal activity, we cannot assume all the Phil Mickelson gambling rumors are true. We also believe that as a sports fan, sometimes probably it is hard to stay away from great online sports betting sites like the ones we handpicked for you.
FAQ
Hope you remember all the details from this article, exploring the Phil Mickelson story and all of his professional achievement. After all, we presented a massive chunk of information today and having an additional question is something usual. We have gathered the most frequently asked questions about Phil Mickelson for your convenience.