Phil Mickelson has pulled out of next month’s Open Championship amid allegations he showed a lewd picture of himself to the wife of a fellow pro-golfer.
According to a story written by golf reporter Alan Shipnuck and published by Skratch, a website dedicated to golf lifestyle, Ashley Perez, the ex-wife of former Tour winner Pat Perez, detailed an alleged incident with Mickelson in 2015.
Phil Mickelson .
In the piece, which Shipnuck claimed to have spoken to 19 sources, Mickelson allegedly invited the Perezes to stay with him during a tournament near New York.
Pat had “excused himself to use the rest room”, and Shipnuck claims Ashley told him that “Mickelson took out his phone and showed her a full-body picture of himself naked”.
“Phil says to me, ‘I’m going to leave my bedroom door open tonight,’” Ashley is quoted as saying. “When Pat falls asleep I want you to come see me. We were staying next door to Phil, and Pat still had to play in the tournament.”
The article said she told her husband when the tournament was over and Mickelson later apologised to Pat.
Mickelson’s lawyer, Tom Clare, released a statement to Skratch in response to the claims.
“Some of the allegations circulating about Mr. Mickelson are false, and others revisit mistakes he has already acknowledged, publicly or privately,” the statement read. “Stacking the disputed claims next to the ones he has owned does not make them credible. It instead contributes to a false and misleading narrative.
“No person, no article, and no book can present an accurate, complete, or personal story of the life Mr Mickelson and his family have lived. His story, struggles, and recovery belong to him and to the people who have shared it closely alongside him.
“Recovery is not a straight line. Throughout their 35-year relationship, his wife, Amy Mickelson, has supported Mr Mickelson and their family with extraordinary grace, unwavering love, and the belief that people are measured not only by their failures, but by what they do to make them right.
“Mr Mickelson’s priority is to become the husband, father, and man his family deserves. Right now, that means giving his full attention to a private family health matter. He understands that parts of his life are public, but his family’s private matters are not.”
Phil Mickelson wearing the green jacket in 2004. nna\telbra
Mickelson has not appeared competitively since March and has missed the season’s first three majors – and now the Open.
The explanation given was that he was dealing with a “private family health matter”.
The report comes after Mickelson resigned from a country club near San Diego earlier this month, where he was accused of inappropriate contact with a female employee.