Phil Mickelson hits a shot last Friday at the LIV Golf event in Virginia.
Getty Images
Confirmation of Masters trash talk. An answer to a question about Rory McIlroy and Masters trash talk. Answers to questions about gambling. A declaration of personal wealth.
Yes, in a span of about 15 hours over Twitter, Phil Mickelson dished on a number of eclectic topics.
Yes, you’ve probably read that sentence immediately above before. Of late, the six-time major champion has logged on often. Still, at a minimum, this latest batch of thoughts are, we’ll call it, notable. We’ll go in order.
The Masters trash talk? That started from an Instagram post on Thursday from the “PGA Memes” account, which wrote: “Every Masters Tuesday, Phil Mickelson delights in torturing jacket-less colleagues by asking, ‘Hey, do you have any dinner plans tonight?’ Dustin Johnson was one of his favorite targets and he fell for it more than once. Last November, after having finally won his first Masters, Johnson took time on Sunday evening to dash off a text to Mickelson: I know what I’m doing for dinner next year on Tuesday, m****rf***er.” (For background here, Mickelson has won three Masters, and Johnson won his first in 2020, when it was played in November.)
The Instagram post was then posted to Twitter on Thursday afternoon by @flushingitgolf, who also wrote: “I hope this is real.” It apparently was. At 11:27 p.m. on Thursday, Mickelson tweeted: “It’s true,” adding a shoulder shrug emoji.
There’s more.
The question about Rory McIlroy and Masters trash talk? That came four minutes later. At 11:31 p.m. on Thursday, @GrowTheGolfGame asked: “When was the last time you asked Rory [wink emoji].” And the answer? That came at 10:39 a.m. on Friday.
“I haven’t asked Rory,” Mickelson wrote. “I don’t think he’d handle it well. Probably tell me to F off.” He added two laughing emojis.
There’s more. The answers to questions about gambling? And a declaration of personal wealth? Those came Friday morning, as part of a Twitter thread in response to a column by Golfweek that was critical of Mickelson.
Wrote @mr_skilling at 1:08 p.m. on Friday: “Speaking of professional help, how is your gambling addiction?”
Answered Mickelson at 1:10 p.m.: “Haven’t gambled in years. Almost a billionaire now. Thanks for asking.”
Wrote @GrahamOhare at 1:18 p.m.: “All that money and you’re still a miserable angry old man.”
Answered Mickelson at 1:20 p.m.: “Trying to find the best and most effective ways to give it to those most in need. I can be grateful for all I have and still not be ok with all the monopolistic stuff that I know goes on within the golf world”
Wrote @trulymassive at 1:19 p.m.: “Dude, im a BIG phil fan but holy s**t man just admit u enjoy gambling… nobody believes u havent placed a bet in “years” and saying it makes u look silly. Just own that u like a little action once in awhile… there are plenty of us who love u more for it.”
Wrote @MattR69391492 at 1:36 p.m.: “Gotta call bs here. This means Phil doesn’t play for money on practice rounds and casual rounds. That is gambling.”
Answered Mickelson at 1:56 p.m.: “There is an * then. We cap it at 1k. I would argue that’s creating competition. But certainly you could argue otherwise.”
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.