Phil Mickelson placed bets of over 1.5 billion AUD during his career

Phil Mickelson denied ever betting on the Ryder Cup amid more than one billion worth of wagers a former gambling associate of the major champion revealed in a new book.

(FILES) Phil Mickelson of the United States line up a putt on the 11th green during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Greenbrier at The Old White Course on August 04, 2023 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Phil Mickelson has placed bets worth a total of more than $1 billion during his career, including a $400,000 wager on the outcome of the 2012 Ryder Cup, according to excerpts from a forthcoming book published in US media on August 10, 2023. (Photo by Eakin Howard / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Phil Mickelson has denied he ever placed a bet on the Ryder Cup after allegations of a $400,000 wager in 2012 were among bets worth more than $1 billion US he placed during his career according to excerpts from a forthcoming book published in US media.

The revelations about Mickelson’s betting are contained in “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk” by professional US gambler Billy Walters, a former close associate of the six-time major winner.

In an extended excerpt from the book published by the FirePit Collective website, Walters detailed frenzied betting by Mickelson over the past three decades.

A biography of Mickelson published in 2022 by US golf writer Alan Shipnuck reported that the golfer had racked up more than $40 million in gambling losses throughout his career.

But in a swift reply to the claims, Mickelson said he never placed the Ryder Cup bet, while acknowledging the deep gambling issues he faced.

“I never bet on the Ryder Cup. While it is well known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine the integrity of the game,” he said via a Twitter post.

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.”

I never bet on the Ryder Cup. 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…

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 10, 2023

Asked for a response to the allegations of a Ryder Cup bet in Memphis at the St Jude Championship, Rory McIlroy, a Mickelson adversary who mocked him for his move to the Saudi-backed LIV golf, was cutting.

“He can bet on the Ryder Cup now because he won’t be playing in it,” McIlroy said.

Mickelson last year acknowledged he had struggled with gambling in the past, describing his betting as “reckless and embarrassing” and revealing that he had undergone “hundreds of hours of therapy” to address the issue.

However Walters said the scale of Mickelson’s losses had been significantly under-reported, and estimated the golfer had in fact made bets worth more than $1 billion in total.

“Based on our relationship and what I’ve since learned from others, Phil’s gambling losses approached not $40 million (61 million AUD) as has been previously reported, but much closer to $100 million,” Walters wrote.

“In all, he wagered a total of more than $1 billion during the past three decades.” Walters and Mickelson’s relationship ruptured when Walters was investigated and subsequently convicted and jailed over an insider trading scam.

Mickelson wasn’t charged, but repaid almost $1 million from money made in the deal.

Walters says in the book he never passed on inside information to Mickelson on the stock deal probed by authorities.

“All Phil had to do was publicly say it. He refused,” Walters wrote. “The outcome cost me my freedom, tens of millions of dollars and a heartbreak I still struggle with daily.” Walters meanwhile added that Mickelson had attempted to place a massive bet on the United States to win during the 2012 Ryder Cup, looking to wager $400,000 on an American victory.

Walters said he rebuffed the approach, comparing Mickelson to Pete Rose, the former baseball player and coach who was permanently banned from the sport in 1989 for betting on games he was involved in.

“I could not believe what I was hearing,” Walters wrote, claiming he told Mickelson: “’Have you lost your … mind?’ I told him, ‘Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose?’” “’You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,’ I added. ‘You’d risk all that for this?’ I want no part of it.” Mickelson triggered uproar in world golf last year after becoming one of the earliest and highest-profile defectors to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf circuit in a lucrative deal reportedly worth $200 million (310 million AUD).