Phil Mickelson has gambled more than $1 billion, attempted to bet on Ryder Cup, according to book
Phil Mickelson's gambling addiction has become well documented.
Now, it has become legendary.
An upcoming book reveals that Mickelson bet more than $1 billion in the past three decades and attempted to place a $400,000 wager on the 2012 Ryder Cup in which he participated, according to renowned gambler Billy Walters.
The bets were on football, basketball and baseball, and Mickelson had losses of approximately $100 million. Mickelson, according to Walters, made 858 bets of $220,000 and 1,115 bets of $110,000 from 2010 to 2014.
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The book, "Gambler: Secrets from a Life of Risk" details Mickelson's relationship with Walters. Excerpts were first reported by Fire Pit Collective. Walters is a Las Vegas businessman, professional gambler and felon. The book, published by Avid Reader Press, comes out on Aug. 22.
"The only other person I know who surpassed that kind of volume is me," Walters writes.
Walters first met Mickelson, who now plays on the LIV Golf tour, at the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Two years later, they entered into a gambling partnership that lasted about five years. During that time, they played "a few dozen" rounds of golf together, according to Walters, in which they "always had a small bet on the line — usually $10,000 — but our matches were never about money."
"Phil liked to gamble as much as anyone I’ve ever met," Walters wrote. "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."
Walters detailed Mickelson's attempt to place a bet on the Ryder Cup.
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 f---ing 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.
Walters does not know if Mickelson placed the bet elsewhere. If he did, it was costly. The Europeans rallied on the last day, winning eight matches and tying one, for a 14.5 to 13.5 victory.
Mickelson, 53, made $97 million in PGA Tour prize money and hundreds of millions more in sponsorships and off-course deals. He reportedly was paid $200 million to leave the PGA Tour and sign a multiyear contract with LIV Golf, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. He is playing at the LIV event at Bedminster, N.J., this week and declined to speak to the media Thursday morning.
Mickelson, a six-time major winner on the PGA Tour who has struggled since joining LIV, told Sports Illustrated about a year ago that he had an addiction to gambling and that it became "reckless" and "embarrassing."
Earlier this year, in a Twitter interaction, Mickelson was asked, "how is your gambling addiction."
His response: “Haven’t gambled in years. Almost a billionaire now. Thanks for asking.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Book: Phil Mickelson gambled more than $1 billion, tried to bet on Ryder Cup
