LIV Golf

Phil Mickelson's never been shy about his love of gambling. Just how not shy he's allegedly been will drop some jaws.

In an excerpt of his upcoming book Gambler: Secrets from a Life of Risk from publisher The Fire Pit Collective, Billy Walters, a renowned sports gambler and former friend of Mickelson, writes the golfer has bet an estimated $1 billion over the past three decades.

Walters kept tabs on Mickelson's betting during their gambling partnership from 2010 to 2014 and came up with the following figures:

• "He bet $110,000 to win $100,000 a total of 1,115 times.
• On 858 occasions, he bet $220,000 to win $200,000. (The sum of those 1,973 gross wagers came to more than $311 million.)

• In 2011 alone, he made 3,154 bets—an average of nearly nine per day.
• On one day in 2011 (June 22), he made forty-three bets on major-league baseball games, resulting in $143,500 in losses.
• He made a staggering 7,065 wagers on football, basketball, and baseball."

In the most concerning allegations of the excerpt, Walters wrote Mickelson tried to bet $400,000 on Team USA to win the 2012 Ryder Cup. Walters says he talked Mickelson out of the career-threatening bet attempt, though he wrote it was unclear whether the bet was placed elsewhere.

"Have you lost your f--king mind?" Walters said he told Mickelson. "Don't you remember what happened to Pete Rose? You're seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer. You'd risk all that for this? I want no part of it.''

Rose was permanently banned from baseball and made ineligible for the Hall of Fame after gambling on the sport during the 1980s. He became a pariah across baseball and remains arguably the face of gambling in sports.

However, Mickelson denied placing a bet on Team USA, according to Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated:

"I never bet on the Ryder Cup," Mickelson said. "While it is well known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine the integrity of the game. I have also been very open about my gambling addiction.

"I have previously conveyed my remorse, took responsibility, have gotten help, have been fully committed to therapy that has positively impacted me, and I feel good about where I am now."

Walters estimated Mickelson has lost around $100 million in sports gambling. A biography published last year estimated around $40 million in losses, and Mickelson has acknowledged being "reckless" with gambling in the past.

"My gambling got to a point of being reckless and embarrassing," Mickelson told Sports Illustrated's Harig. "I had to address it. And I've been addressing it for a number of years. And for hundreds of hours of therapy. I feel good where I'm at there. My family and I are and have been financially secure for some time.

"Gambling has been part of my life ever since I can remember. But about a decade ago is when I would say it became reckless. It's embarrassing. I don't like that people know. The fact is I've been dealing with it for some time."

It's unclear if Mickelson still gambles or if he has ever wagered on a tournament where he's been a participant.

Sports gambling has been under an increased microscope since the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports gambling in 2018. Several athletes and coaches across multiple sports have faced punishment for betting on their own sport in recent years.

Amid pressure from the United States Justice Department regarding their potential merger, the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League have reportedly renounced a key provision of their tentative deal.

According to Alan Blinder, Lauren Hirsch and Kevin Draper of the New York Times, the two sides have "abandoned" their promise not to poach each other's players.

According to the report, the decision made by the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund "was an early casualty of an antitrust review by Justice Department regulators, who are expected to decide in the coming months whether to try to block the transaction."

The tour informed its board about the move on Thursday.

Prior to the decision, the deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League included a nonsolicitation provision that said neither side would "enter into any contract, agreement or understanding with" any "players who are members of the other's tour or organization," nor would they "solicit" or "recruit" players away from one another.

The provision was meant to put a halt to any defections from either side as they worked out the final details of the deal.

Upon its establishment in 2021, LIV notably poached a long list of top golfers from the PGA Tour by offering them massive contracts, some of which were in excess of nine figures.

Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith were among those who made the jump to LIV for its inaugural season in 2022.

By abandoning their promise, the PGA Tour runs the risk of more players doing the same thing until the deal with LIV Golf is completed.

Rory McIlroy remains defiant in his opposition to LIV Golf despite the breakaway series reaching a partnership agreement with the PGA Tour.

"If LIV Golf was the last place on Earth to play golf, I would retire," the four-time major champion told reporters Thursday. "That's how I feel about it."

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf have yet to fully map out what their merger will look like in practice. The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations provided a rough sketch when it released details of the negotiations between the two parties.

According to the committee, PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne and Edward Herlihy, chairman of the tour's policy board, gave a presentation in which they floated the idea of McIlroy and Tiger Woods owning LIV franchises and competing in at least 10 LIV events.

Based on McIlroy's comments, the odds of him becoming a LIV team owner or participating in LIV-branded tournaments at the moment seem slim to none.

The 34-year-old has been the de facto face of the PGA Tour ever since the battle lines were drawn between the tour and LIV. Not only did he resist LIV's overtures, but he also assumed a significant leadership role within the tour.

Rory McIlroy says he can understand why some players left to join the LIV Golf series, however he insists that he is happy playing on the PGA Tour and wouldn't consider leaving 👇 pic.twitter.com/ODNWzEvhtZ

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 9, 2022

For fans, that made it all the more galling when the PGA Tour aligned with LIV Golf and almost totally failed to keep McIlroy abreast of what was happening behind the scenes.

He had advocated for some sort of détente between the tour and LIV last fall but said he felt "somewhat like a sacrificial lamb" when things actually came together this summer.

"Again, removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf. There's no denying that," he told reporters. "But for me as an individual, yeah, there's just going to have to be conversations that are had."

As the saga continues to evolve, perhaps McIlroy's broad stance on LIV will change. For now, the emotions clearly remain very raw.

Randall Stephenson resigned from the PGA Tour's policy board due to "serious concerns" over the proposed partnership with LIV Golf, according to the Washington Post's Rick Maese.

In a letter to colleagues, he wrote how the agreement "is not one that I can objectively evaluate or in good conscience support, particularly in light of the U.S. intelligence report concerning Jamal Khashoggi in 2018."

A U.S. intelligence report contended that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a journalist who had been critical of the Saudi regime.

The PGA Tour shocked the golf world when it announced June 6 it struck a deal to partner with LIV Golf. The sides had been locked in contentious litigation, and LIV launched a head-to-head battle against the tour by poaching a number of golf's top stars.

A year earlier, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had attempted to claim the moral high ground over LIV Golf.

"Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?”

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan comments on players joining LIV Golf. pic.twitter.com/MeHAbR1qQL

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 12, 2022

In addition to the murder of Khashoggi, critics of LIV pointed to the role of Saudi nationals in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

9/11 Families United, an organization whose members lost loved ones in the attacks, said it was "shocked and deeply offended" to learn of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's agreement.

"PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA's unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia's reputation," chairperson Terry Strada said. "But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones."

The planned merger faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States. On Tuesday, PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne are scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Ron Johnson have also asked Monahan, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman and Yasir Al-Rumayyan to testify in front of the committee. Al-Rumayyan is the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV.

Beyond the congressional inquiry, Maese wrote how Stephenson's departure "suggests the partnership faces significant hurdles if it is to move forward." The PGA Tour's policy board has yet to provide the necessary approval for the venture.

LIV Golf's Matthew Wolff is not happy with comments made by Smash GC captain and teammate Brooks Koepka.

Wolff issued a statement to Alex Miceli of Sports Illustrated on Friday:

"I read the SI interview with our Captain Brooks Koepka and it was beyond disappointing to me. When I chose to join his Team in 2023, I did so with much optimism about my new home as part of Team Smash and equally as important the chance to be around and learn from a player of Brooks's stature. Like everyone who has ever played the game at the highest level, I have had competitive moments in the past that I feel I have let myself down and even others in our new team environment. This has been quite difficult for me. My challenges on and off the golf course with my mental health has been well documented. I deal with those challenges every day.

"However, while my 2023 season has not been all I had hoped for to this point, I have made positive strides in managing my life and feel like my game is turning for the positive. To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking. It's not what a team member looks to hear from its leader, and I think we all know these comments should have been handled much differently. But I'm moving forward and won't ever give up on myself. While on course results may not appear now to be positive indicators, I'm trying to win an even BIGGER game with my life."

Koepka turned heads during an interview with Miceli when he questioned Wolff's competitive spirit and work ethic.

"I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that's not competing," Koepka said. "I'm not a big fan of that. You don't work hard. It's very tough. It's very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you've got one guy that won't work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he's going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it's very tough. I've basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean the talent's wasted."

Wolff got off to a quick start during the LIV season with three top-10 finishes. However, he has struggled of late and is 27th on LIV's money list.

He withdrew from a May event in Washington, D.C., ahead of the last round and finished in 44th place in his most recent showing in Spain.

Koepka is one of the most high-profile golfers on the LIV circuit with five major championships on his resume, including the 2023 PGA Championship.

Brooks Koepka had some harsh words for LIV Golf teammate Matthew Wolff this week.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Koepka said he's "given up" on the struggling Wolff, accusing him of not working hard on his craft:

I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that's not competing. I'm not a big fan of that. You don't work hard. It's very tough. It's very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you've got one guy that won't work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he's going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it's very tough. I've basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean the talent's wasted.

Wolff is a part of the Smash GC team, which is captained by Koepka. He hasn't cracked the top 30 in any of his past five events—LIV Golf events only hold a field of 48 golfers—and withdrew from a Washington event in June due to an undisclosed injury.

"I'm here, you know, trying to do what I can to play the best round of golf and that's going to help the team," Wolff told Sports Illustrated. "I'm just here to focus on myself and try to play some good golf and that's what everyone's really trying to do, because golf is trying to put the best score up and then if that helps your team it's great."

But when he was asked if he wanted to play for a different team, he paused, shook his head and walked away without answering further.

Wolff is currently 27th on the money list, with only the top 24 finishers guaranteed a spot in LIV Golf next season. His name has been removed from the Smash GC's social media bios, while Koepka, his brother Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak are still listed.

Wolff, 24, won the NCAA Division I individual championship and additionally won the 3M Open in just his third PGA Tour start back in 2019. But he took two months off in 2021 to address his mental health and has struggled since joining LIV Golf.

And now it appears he may be looking for a new team going forward.

After the surprising alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Series was announced this month, one legendary golfer remained silent on the matter, until now.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson made his first public comments about the merger on Wednesday, saying he believes it will benefit the entire sport of golf.

"Going forward, we're all very optimistic about where the game of golf, professional golf specifically, is headed," Mickelson told reporters during a news conference ahead of this week's LIV Golf tournament in Spain. "Also, a lot of the changes that have been made because of LIV were all very [appreciated], both on the LIV Tour as well as the PGA Tour, and we're happy for the guys out there that they're having some positive changes there, as well."

Mickelson had declined to speak about the merger at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club earlier this month, saying he didn't want to distract from the major championship. The 53-year-old, who joined LIV Golf last year, faced criticism for comments he made discussing the Saudi Arabian monarchy's history of human rights abuse and disparaging the PGA Tour. Upon joining LIV Golf, he lost several of his longtime sponsors.

The PGA Tour is set to combine with the DP World Tour and LIV, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour will have controlling interest in the new company, but LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman reportedly has told his players that LIV will remain a standalone entity. Mickelson was non-committal when asked if he intends to return to the PGA Tour.

"Rather than saying yes or no, I know that from a player experience, all of the difficulties and challenges and things that take a lot of excessive energy and output throughout the week have been fixed at LIV," he said. "So the player experience here is incredible. I just can't envision a better scenario for me as a player than playing out here on LIV."

In the wake of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour agreeing to a landmark merger, the future of LIV Golf will be in the hands of PGA Tour leadership, including commissioner Jay Monahan, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Golf Digest's Joel Beall.

According to Schlabach, Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan signed a five-page agreement that will largely place the PGA Tour in charge of all matters moving forward.

The viability of continuing LIV Golf is among the orders of business that will be considered, with the agreement stating the following:

"NewCo will undertake a full and empirical data-driven evaluation of LIV and its prospects and potential and will make a good faith assessment of the benefits of team golf in general, and PIF, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour will work together in an effort to determine how to best integrate team golf into PGA Tour and DP World Tour events going forward."

Despite the Saudi PIF making a significant investment in the new golf venture and reserving the right to make future investments, the PGA Tour will have "full decision-making authority with respect to all strategic and operational matters related to competition."

LIV Golf has only been holding competitions for a little over a year, and while it will continue to do so for now, shutting down LIV is an option, especially since it has failed to establish itself as destination viewing for golf fans.

In its first season, LIV could only be streamed on YouTube and its website, and it was unable to land a television deal with a major network for Year 2, instead settling for The CW.

One thing LIV Golf succeeded in was siphoning star power from the PGA Tour, as larger payouts and shorter tournaments drew in the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia, among others.

Now, regardless of whether LIV continues to exist or not, the groundwork is being laid for players who left the PGA to apply for reinstatement.

Per Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, the agreement includes language related to LIV Golf stars becoming eligible for the PGA Tour once again over time:

"The framework states the tours 'will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA TOUR or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission consistent with each Tour's disciplinary policies.'"

Golfers won't be able to apply for reinstatement until 2024, and they may face disciplinary measures upon being reinstated.

According to Quinn, sources within the PGA Tour said multiple punishments are being considered, including fines and a one-year suspension from the time of the golfers' final LIV Golf tournament.

The agreement between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour was sent to a U.S. Senate subcommittee, and a hearing will be held on July 11 to determine the legality of the PGA Tour remaining a tax-exempt entity despite investment for the Saudi PIF.

For the second day in a row, Phil Mickelson was the focus of a heckler at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club on Friday.

According to Josh Peter of USA Today, two volunteers who were with Mickelson's group described the scene, saying the heckler yelled at Mickelson about leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf while he was going from the 14th green to the 15th tee box.

Padraig Harrington, who was in Mickelson's group, said the heckler was wearing a wig, and he believed it to be the same person who heckled Mickelson while wearing a sombrero during Thursday's first round.

Friday was Mickelson's 53rd birthday, and other fans in attendance tried to drown out the heckler by loudly wishing Lefty a happy birthday.

Mickelson largely struggled Friday, shooting a four-over 74 after shooting a one-under 69 in the first round, resulting in him missing the cut at three-over.

After LIV Golf was founded in 2021, Mickelson was perhaps the highest-profile player to make the leap from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-funded tour.

The six-time major champion was eventually joined by other stars, such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia.

LIV Golf's arrival created a clear divide in the golf world, as many who left for LIV were accused of selling out and checking their morality at the door since LIV is financed by a country with a long history of human rights violations.

The PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, played into that narrative, but that didn't stop the PGA from recently agreeing to merge with LIV Golf and the DP World Tour with financial backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

It was also announced as part of the merger that golfer who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf will be given the opportunity to apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour after previously having their tour cards revoked.

PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne told ESPN's Mark Schlabach last week that the PGA plans to reward players who were loyal to the tour by giving them equity in the new enterprise.

Meanwhile, golfers like Mickelson who left for LIV Golf received huge paydays, and will now be given the chance to return to the PGA Tour as well.

As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Series prepare to move forward with their alliance, they've reportedly taken steps to end their ongoing litigation against one another.

According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the sovereign wealth fund's governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, "filed a motion on Friday to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice all legal claims against each other in a federal antitrust lawsuit."

The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. As part of the agreement, LIV Golf reportedly voluntarily dismisses with prejudice its claims against the PGA Tour, and the Tour voluntarily dismisses with prejudice its claims against LIV, the Public Investment Fund and Al-Rumayyan.

The "with prejudice" caveat means that LIV Golf's antitrust claims can never be filed again, nor can the Tour's counterclaims that LIV interfered with their players' contracts.

While the two sides are prepared to end their legal proceedings, they will turn their attention to the other potential battles on the horizon to secure their partnership. Schlabach noted that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a review of the planned alliance, as has the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The PGA Tour had already faced scrutiny from Justice Department officials due to their alleged monopolistic practices. As part of the federal antitrust lawsuit filed by 11 LIV Golf players in August, the Tour was accused of "using its monopoly powers to quash competition and discourage vendors, media companies and others from working with LIV Golf," per Schlabach.