If You Think You've Heard it All From Phil Mickelson, Listen to This

The Hall of Famer went into exile for months as a result of incendiary comments made to reporter Alan Shipnuck, but now claims the interview never happened.

Just when you think Phil Mickelson couldn’t do anything more outlandish or say something more preposterous, he surprises everyone and decides to take another step into quicksand.

On Wednesday in Saudi Arabia at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, site of the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah, Mickelson decided to stand in front of a gaggle of reporters and outright lie.

It’s hard to accuse someone of deliberately making false statements, but Mickelson stood there, hands on hips and matter-of-factly lied in answering the following question: “You made some comments about this country last year which you've apologized for. I wondered how you feel about now you're here. Have you changed your opinion?”

Mickelson’s response was laughable.

“So, I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck,” Mickelson said. “And I find that my experience with everybody associated with LIV Golf has been nothing but incredibly positive and I have the utmost respect for everybody that I've been involved with.”

Mickelson on more than one occasion apologized for what he told Shipnuck in their interview in late 2021.

The revelation of Mickelson’s comments by Shipnuck in a Feb. 17 story at Fire Pit Collective cost Mickelson most of his corporate sponsors and forced him into hiding for months before he returned to professional golf at the U.S. Open in June at The Country Club outside Boston.

I will admit that Mickelson could maintain that his phone conversation with Shipnuck, when Mickelson called the reporter directly, could possibly be construed as something other than an interview.

But if not an interview, then what? According to Shipnuck, he had been pursuing Mickelson for an interview for his new book on the Hall of Famer that was going to be released in April.

The big lefthander ducked all attempts by Shipnuck to get Mickelson on the record for months and then one day around Thanksgiving, Mickelson, out of the blue, called Shipnuck and spouted off about the Saudis, LIV and the PGA Tour.

It’s a hard case to be made that Mickelson didn’t participate in an interview. He has maintained that everything he told Shipnuck on that call was off the record, but Shipnuck says otherwise.

“They’re scary mother------s to get involved with,” Mickelson said. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”

That was what Mickelson is purported to have said to Shipnuck.

On June 6, Mickelson posted a statement on his Twitter feed that said, “I want to again apologize to the many people I offended and hurt with my comments a few months ago.”

What other comments could Mickelson be talking about if not those to Shipnuck?

The fact is, Mickelson was apologizing for the comments made to Shipnuck and even if he didn’t want them out in the public, he should have known better than to spout off to a reporter.

Many of Mickelson's actions over time have shown to be questionable, from throwing 2014 Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson under the bus in the postround press conference in Gleneagles, to his association with professional gambler Billy Walters, who was convicted in an insider trading scandal where Mickelson ultimately repaid the government nearly $1 million.

The lie in Saudi Arabia is just thrown on the pile of egregious mistakes that Mickelson has made in his career, usually connected to comments he made about one thing or another.

The latest revelation isn't surprising, but I never thought he would stoop to the level of Pinocchio.