​Phil Mickelson’s career and personal life have been cast into renewed controversy. An investigation by Alan Shipnuck for Skratch.golf presents multiple allegations of inappropriate conduct by Mickelson, including an incident in 2015 where he showed the wife of a fellow professional a nude photo of himself and then propositioned her. The Skratch report, published June 26 and titled “Phil Mickelson’s Long History of Misconduct,” followed a Golf Digest story noting that Mickelson, 56, had been banned from a club near his San Diego home after accusations of inappropriate touching of a female employee. A day later, it emerged that he withdrew from the British Open in mid-June, marking the first time since 2009 that he would skip the final major of the season. The Open is set for July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale in England.
The report details an incident in New Jersey during the 2015 tournament at Plainfield Country Club, where Pat Perez and his wife, Ashley, were staying in a villa next to Mickelson. Ashley says Mickelson showed her an explicit nude photo of himself on his phone while Pat was in the bathroom and then told her he planned to leave his bedroom door open that night for her to visit him. Ashley told Pat, who has since recounted the story within golf circles. Mickelson allegedly apologized to Pat at least twice. Mickelson and Perez, both Arizona State alumni, joined LIV Golf in its first year, 2022.
The Skratch report also documents another incident in which Mickelson allegedly made inappropriate remarks to a woman and propositioned her “in graphic detail,” with the woman saying it felt like verbal rape. Ashley Perez described a similarly inappropriate experience with Mickelson prior to the nude-photo incident. At the Madison Club in La Quinta, California, Mickelson once owned a one-bedroom condo on the second floor of the club’s clubhouse, and multiple sources say he began regularly inviting a woman who was not his wife to spend the night in his condo.
Golf Digest reported on June 11 that Mickelson approached a woman at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, initiating nonconsensual physical contact; she declined and reported it to supervisors. As a result, Mickelson is no longer welcome at the club where he had long practiced. The incident is said to have occurred in the spring.
Mickelson’s attorney, Tom Clare, refuted the Farms Golf Club allegations, telling USA Today Sports that a portion of the golf media has seized upon his client’s private life for sensational purposes, and criticized the report for recycling material to improve search engine optimization.