Phil Mickelson has always been a fan favorite. With every thumbs up to the gallery or tweet about “hitting bombs,” his intrigue becomes all the harder to resist. As the years have gone on and all types of media have grown, we’ve gotten to see more of Lefty’s personality than ever before. Twitter has given us the opportunity to tune in to Phireside Chats with Phil, and The Match series is yet another chance to connect with the five-time major champion.
But even with all this access, there are still stories of his legend that have yet to reach the public. This week on GOLF’s Subpar, PGA Tour golfer Keith Mitchell shared one of those tales with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.
Mitchell got to know Mickelson playing in a practice round for the Masters during his first year on Tour. After this outing, Mitchell explained he felt comfortable enough to have a little fun at Mickelson’s expense.
Mitchell is known as a prankster on Tour, and when he found Mickelson asleep in front of his locker at the Wells Fargo Championship, he decided to have a little fun with him. So, he snapped a picture of the scene and posted it to Instagram.
“He’d just gotten social media — he felt like the king of social media,” Mitchell said. “I was like, ‘This is gold.'”
Mickelson was not happy with the prank.
“I promise you, he was so pissed,” Mitchell said.
Once Mickelson cooled down and laughed it off, Mitchell knew payback was coming. Few players on Tour can out-prank Mickelson. About a month later, Mitchell was walking into the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship when he was stopped by a police officer. The officer served him a paternity lawsuit.
At first Mitchell was nervous. But once he understood this was Mickelson’s way of pranking him back, he started to have a little fun with the cop.
“I just signed in big letters, ‘Phil Mickelson,” Mitchell said.
When Mitchell walked into the locker room, Mickelson couldn’t believe his prank didn’t work, even suggesting that he’d been tipped off beforehand.
“He is losing his mind,” Mitchell said. “He tried to get me back, but he couldn’t get me.”
Check out the entire episode of Subpar below as Mitchell discusses his time on the Latin American Tour, his idea for shortening the PGA Tour fall series and more.
