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Phil Mickelson’s gambling losses totaled nearly $100 million

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Phil Mickelson
The following is an excerpt from “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk,” by Billy Walters. This article first appeared in Fire Pit Collective, a Golf Digest content partner. The book comes out on Aug. 23 and is published by Simon & Schuster.

I first met Phil Mickelson in 2006 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Northern California. Swedish pro Freddie Jacobson and I made the cut and, as fate would have it, we were paired with Phil and his amateur partner.

Phil and Freddie were on their way to a pair of 77’s and a tie for thirty-eighth place. Throughout the final round, Phil and I talked nothing but sports, oblivious to the beguiling beauty of the Monterey Peninsula and one of my favorite courses in the world. It was evident that he knew of my sports-gambling success and was trying to connect on that level.

Despite his bloated score that day, Phil’s brilliance as a golfer was in full bloom. Throughout the years, I have played with many PGA Tour pros and, frankly, Phil had another gear that most others don’t have. He was also willing to put it all on the line and risk losing a golf tournament to hit one miraculous shot. A man after my own heart!

In May 2008, I was invited to play in another Pro-Am at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a guest of the bank. I bumped into Phil in the locker room. This time, he was more direct.

“I hear you do partnerships,” he said.

“I do,” I said. “But only if someone has access to places I can’t bet. Or places where they can bet more money than me.”

Phil had both. After the Wachovia meeting, we kept in touch and eventually entered into a gambling partnership that lasted five years. During that time, we played a few dozen rounds of golf together, most of them in Southern California. We always had a small bet on the line—usually $10,000—but our matches were never about money. We became what I thought were friends. If you’ve ever had a golf buddy, you know what I’m talking about.

More than once throughout our betting partnership, I found myself compelled to offer some quiet counsel to help Phil avoid some of the same issues that plagued me as a younger man. I want to make clear that I’m the last person to criticize someone for an addiction to anything

From the start, our betting agreement—one we verbally negotiated—called for us to split everything fifty-fifty. Phil put up half the money; I put up the other half. That way, we shared an equal amount of risk and reward.

Phil Mickelson

Phil said he had two offshore accounts that would take big action from him. In all the decades I’ve worked with partners and beards, Phil had accounts as large as anyone I’d seen. You don’t get those types of accounts without betting millions of dollars.

My reason for partnering with him was simple. Given my reputation in the gambling world, my limits with Phil’s two bookmakers were roughly $20,000 a game on college and $50,000 on the pros. Even after our fifty-fifty split, Phil’s limits of $400,000 on college at offshore sportsbooks and another $400,000 on the NFL enabled me to at least double my limits. Phil also had a $100,000 limit on college over/under bets with each book, twenty times my maximum.

By his own admission, Phil was worth an estimated $250 million during our time betting together (he collected a reported $50 million annually in endorsements alone). We agreed that anytime our winnings or losses reached $3 million, we would settle up. In truth, I was no more worried about Phil paying me $3 million than an average person owing me a thousand bucks.

In the beginning, I didn’t know Phil’s betting habits or background, so I did some research. My strategy was to emulate his betting patterns to disguise the fact that it was Billy Walters, not Phil Mickelson, placing the bets. I followed his patterns, betting at the same time, in similar amounts, dogs or favorites, riding his horses as long as we could.

The first six months of our agreement ran like Secretariat. The offshore bookies failed to detect anything different in the pattern of Phil’s bets other than that he was winning far more often. Despite our best efforts to keep the two accounts alive, it wasn’t long before the offshore bookies closed them. They told Phil the bets were far more disciplined than usual, so they knew they weren’t solely his. He could resume betting, they said, but only if it was on his own. This led Phil to activate a formerly dormant account for our partnership.

As I said, Phil liked to gamble as much as anyone I’ve ever met. Frankly, given Phil’s annual income and net worth at the time, I had no problems with his betting. And still don’t. He’s a big-time gambler, and big-time gamblers make big bets. It’s his money to spend how he wants.

In late September 2012, Phil called me from Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago, site of the 39th Ryder Cup matches between the United States and Europe. He was feeling supremely confident that the American squad led by Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, and Phil himself was about to reclaim the Cup from the Euros. He was so confident that he asked me to place a $400,000 wager for him on the U.S. team to win.

I could not believe what I was hearing.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” I told him. “Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose?” The former Cincinnati Reds manager was banned from baseball for betting on his own team. “You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,” I added. “You’d risk all that for this? I want no part of it.’’

“Alright, alright,” he replied.

I have no idea whether Phil placed the bet elsewhere. Hopefully, he came to his senses, especially considering the “Miracle at Medinah.” Trailing 10-6 going into the final day of singles matches, the Europeans pulled off the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history. They won eight matches and tied one to beat the Americans by a single point, 14½ to 13½.

Phil’s loss to Justin Rose that Sunday contributed to the stunning defeat.

After my betting partnership with Phil ended in the spring of 2014, I learned a lot more about his sports gambling from two very reliable sources.

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CELEB NEWS

Tiger Woods ‘barred Phil Mickelson from attending dinner at

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Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods

Did Tiger Woods bar rival and LIV Golf defector Phil Mickelson from a private dinner for Open Championship winners at St. Andrews in 2022?

As detailed in Alan Shipnuck’s upcoming book, LIV And Let Die, Woods allegedly demanded that Mickelson be banned from the event, which took place at the height of the legal battle between the two golf circuits. The two rival tours have since agreed to a controversial merger, the details of which are still being negotiated.

LIV’s first event took place in June of 2022 and there were lingering animosity over Mickelson and other defectors being permitted to participate in golf’s annual majors.

So when it came time for previous Open winners to dine together at the 268-year-old club, Woods reportedly took it upon himself to ensure Mickelson wasn’t welcomed.

‘He talked to a handful of other [past champions] to get their blessing and then went to the R&A and told them, basically, no one wanted Phil there and it would make the night weird and awkward,’ one attendee told Shipnuck. ‘Whose side were they going to take,Tiger’s or Phil’s? That’s an easy choice.’

Phil Mickelson

At the time, Mickelson told reporters that the R&A advised him against participating in that and similar events.

‘The R&A contacted me a couple weeks before and said, ‘Look, we don’t think it’s a great idea you go, but if you want to, you can,’ Mickelson told the media. ‘I just didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I said, ‘Fine.’ We both kind of agreed that it would be best if I didn’t.’

Woods was among the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf when it began luring PGA players with nine-figure deals, resulting in a legal battle between the two golf circuits.

His  presence on the PGA Tour’s policy board came as a great relief to friend and rival Rory McIlroy, who thanked the injured golf legend in August for representing the players amid the controversial merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

‘The player that, especially over the last 20 years, has left the biggest legacy on the game, for him to be involved in the discussions around the future of professional golf and what that may look like is very important,’ McIlroy said.

tiger wood

‘Tiger’s stepped up for all of us on Tour and I think he realizes all the players on the policy board are trying to play regular golf and at the same time trying to navigate all these different things as well, so he’s maybe got a little bit more time on his hands than we do.

‘So for him to step up and sort of take a little bit of the load off us is very much appreciated.’

Woods and McIlroy have been the biggest advocates of the established tours in their battle with LIV Golf, but were kept in the dark before the shocking announcement of a deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV.

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BOXING

Amid Tiger Woods’ Tragic Hiatus, Terence Crawford Vows to Fill In Billionaire Golfer’s Shoes While Detailing His New Achievement

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Terence Crawford

On July 29, Terence Crawford entered history books as the first man to become a two-division undisputed champion. For a man who has been active in the sport for the past fifteen years, he no longer needed to justify himself to those who questioned his legacy. However, time is running against him. He turned thirty-six last week. Hence, soon after the victory over Errol Spence Jr., he has been gunning for the next big match.

America’s Favorite Video Today

However, that doesn’t mean that Crawford has forgotten what it means to have fun. The Omaha-born Southpaw seems to have found a new love: golf. He shared clips of his adventures at the golf course early today with fans and followers. With Golf Hall of Famer Tiger Woods remaining out of the scene on account of health issues, on a lighter note, it seems like the sport has gained a new star who even changed his name to bring out the inner golfer in him, much to everyone’s amusement.
The Nebraskan first displayed his Ping Hieoki luxury brand kit in Instagram stories. Fans can hear the world champion in the background: “You all see it? Call me Terence Woods, about to hit the 300-yard bar. They don’t believe in me. I believe in myself. Dope, let’s get it.” The moment he said to call him “Terence Woods,” everyone around him erupted into a big laughter.
TerenceCrawford
The following clip shows him at the course. Crawford checks with one of the officials, “How…how far was it?” And pat came the reply, “306.” Happy with the job done, the Welterweight champion said, “I’m out here, and they said I couldn’t do it, so I had to prove him wrong. 306 baby, I’m like that. Call me Terrence Woods…Terrence Woods.” Once again, those who accompanied him let out a huge bellow of laughter.

The final clip shows him looking through a sizable collection of golf clubs that Tiger Woods and other famous players most likely used. He said, “You know I want my majors..here clubs, Tiger Woods ain’t here with me.” One of the persons drew his attention: “He (Tiger Woods) is over here.” From one of the racks came a gold-plated club with Tiger Woods, 1995 US Amateur Champion written on it.

Where else the ‘Bud’ can bloom?

For sure, Terence Crawford was having a gala of a time. As regards the ring, he reportedly made it clear that he would no longer be chasing Jermell Charlo after his defeat at the hands of Canelo Alvarez. As many fans might remember, he has also called out the Mexican champion. But, with so many options available, only time will tell whether the Super Middleweight champion will reciprocate. But otherwise, there have been questions about Crawford’s willingness to climb three divisions – whether the move would be prudent.

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