Golf: Phil Mickelson suffered gambling losses of over $60m, new biography claims

Phil Mickelson (R) with fomer caddie Jim Mackay, who is alleged to have left his role due to unpaid wages. Photo / Photosport

To all those questioning why Phil Mickelson could possibly need the riches being dangled by the Saudi rebel circuit, perhaps the latest excerpt released from his forthcoming biography will provide an explanation.

It is claimed Mickelson sustained gambling losses totalling more than NZ$60 million over the four-year period from 2010-14.

This was disclosed as part of Mickelson's legal fallout from an insider-trading case with Billy Walters, the famous Las Vegas high-roller, in which the golfer was named by the FBI and was forced to repay approximately US$1million from a shares transaction.

Author Alan Shipnuck published a passage from "Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorised!) Biography of Golf's Most Colourful Superstar", in which he quotes a source with access to the documents drawn up by government auditors following a forensic examination into Mickelson's finances.

Although Mickelson earned roughly US$40million in each of those years, Shipnuck deduces that after taxes, other expenses and a luxury lifestyle - including buying a dinosaur's skull as a birthday present— that would have left him with US$10m, meaning he "broke even or worse" over that period.

The claim is then made that in 2017 Jim Mackay left his role as Mickelson's long-time caddie partly because of hundreds of thousands in unpaid wages. An insider has since confirmed this to Telegraph Sport.

There have long been rumours of Mickelson's betting habits, as well as other indiscretions, and these revelations will inevitably only shine the spotlight ever brighter on the beleaguered left-hander.

The book is due to be released on May 17, just two days before the first round of the US PGA and this is just one factor why there is a growing belief inside the locker room that, despite being the reigning champion, the 51-year-old will not play in the season's second major.

Mickelson has been on indefinite leave from golf for almost three months since the initial furore broke out of material in Shipnuck's account.

Mickelson declared that the Saudis were "scary motherf-----s to be involved with" and referenced their "horrid human rights record", including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the treatment of homosexuals.

But he figured that he could overlook all this because "it provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

Greg Norman, the Australian entrusted with overseeing the Saudi bid to revolutionise the professional male game, later told Telegraph Sport that Mickelson's comments and the resulting outrage derailed what had been the imminent launch of the breakaway league, but the plans were quickly redrawn and the US$255million eight-event LIV Golf Invitational Series will begin in St Albans next month, before heading to the US.

Mickelson has applied to the PGA Tour for a release to play in the tournament at the Centurion Club and will learn on Monday if he has been successful, as will others such as Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.