Earlier in the week, a picture of the menu from Southern Hills was released. Many fans were outraged about the exorbitant price of beer and water, although some defended it.

Via @codymcbridenlu

A few PGA Tour players have now weighed in on the high prices, and it seems they too have differing opinions.

Justin Thomas said via Twitter that he disagreed with the prices and that you “Gotta treat the fans better than that”.

$18(!!!!!!) for a beer… uhhhh what. Gotta treat the fans better than that! ????? https://t.co/7DeyC7WTJE

— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) May 17, 2022

Brooks Koepka, on the other hand, defended the prices of the beer.

“Yeah. Michelob Ultra is 18 bucks, but it’s a tall boy,” he said, referring to the fact that the cans of beer at Southern Hills are 25 oz. “It’s bigger than the normal 12 ounces, 16 ounces. It’s bigger than the normal ones, so you’ll be all right. You drink enough, you’ll be fine.”

It’s worth noting that Michelob is one of Koepka’s sponsors.

The tournament officials also defended the menu prices.

“We do have a new concession area, but we also have a new ticketing pricing offering for all the spectators this year, which includes basically as much food and non-alcoholic beverage as they want included in the price of the ticket,” Kerry Haigh, Chief Championships Officer of the PGA of America, said. “Starting Thursday, spectators will be able to drink non-alcoholic beverages and as much food as they want for the price of their ticket. For those on the practice days, all spectators can bring in bottled water, and starting Thursday we’ll have refills on water.

“The pricing of the product is sort of comparable to stadium events. We’re comfortable with where we are, and we hope spectators will come out and have a great time and a great experience.”

Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America, said these prices may be re-evaluated in the future though.

“It’s a new model for us, right, so at the end of it we’ll go back and, like we always do, try to figure out if it worked or didn’t work and what we can do better and raise the bar.”

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• ‘Absolutely disgusting’ – LPGA pro blasts Augusta National for its role in major venue change
• ‘Get it out of my face, man!’ – Brooks Koepka snatches phone from fan during tense exchange

We will not see defending PGA champion Phil Mickelson at Southern Hills this week but his name is still creating headlines just a day before the first tee time.

• Related: ‘You have to earn it’ – Tiger shows no sympathy for Mickelson while firmly backing PGA Tour

It cannot be a coincidence that the release of Alan Shipnuck’s no-holds-barred biography was timed for this very week, but it is the nature of the content, plus previously reported excerpts from the book, that make PGA Championship week more than the names on the entry list.

• Related: ‘I don’t trust Shipnuck’ – Former PGA champ hits out at author of new Mickelson biography

Just a few days ago, we reported on a part of the bio that concentrates on a story told by golf scribe John Hawkins.

In the short piece, Hawkins alleges Mickelson made large numbers bets on college basketball games in a brief space of time, so many that he felt the now-maligned player to be “showing off”.

The book makes many further allegations, including a segment involving outspoken former professional and announcer Gary McCord.

In that section of the book, McCord alleges gambling took place on the putting green during tournaments, and in the most bizarre fashion.

“When I was in the TV tower, every time Phil got to my hole, Bones (caddie Jim Mackay) would look up at me and I would flash the odds,” McCord said. “If Phil had a 15-footer, I’d flash three fingers, which meant the odds were 3-1. If he was 60 feet, I’d give him 2-1 on a two-putt. Bones would go down and whisper in his ear and Phil would look up at me and shake his head, yes or no.”

“I can’t tell you how many wadded-up twenties I threw out of the tower until the Tour found out about it and I got word through CBS I was no longer allowed to gamble with Phil while up in the tower.”

Previous to these allegations, Mickelson’s gambling habits were the stuff of hearsay, but this is perhaps the wildest Phil related gambling story of them all.

More from the 19th Hole

• 86-year-old Gary Player shows off remarkable club head and ball speed numbers
• ‘Absolutely disgusting’ – LPGA pro blasts Augusta National for its role in major venue change
• ‘Get it out of my face, man!’ – Brooks Koepka snatches phone from fan during tense exchange

He may not be teeing it up at Southern Hills this week to defend his title, but Phil Mickelson is still creating plenty of buzz ahead of the second major of the year.

• Related: Major champ shares wild Phil Mickelson gambling story from Presidents Cup

This week, the 2002 PGA Champion Rich Beem has revealed that he wants nothing to do with Alan Shipnuck, author of the just-released unauthorised biography of Phil Mickelson.

• Related: Biographer claims this is the shock real reason why Mickelson and caddie Bones split

In an interview with BoyleSports Golf Betting and GolfMagic, the now Sky Sports analyst revealed he had “enough of the sensationalism” of how the writer approached his work on the 2021 book, ‘Bud, Sweat & Tees’, a publication featuring ‘Rich Beem’s Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour’.

In the book, Shipnuck covered Beem’s rookie year alongside caddie Steve Duplantis, but the 51-year-old says that, “Even though he wrote that book, just so you know, you and I got paid the same amount for that book. After he wrote the book, we remained fairly friendly and then it got to the point where I’d had enough of the sensationalism of how he wrote it.”

Explaining why he is “not a fan,” of the author, Beem said, “I don’t trust him and if I don’t trust you, then I don’t really want to have anything to do with you. I think the one thing I base my friendships on and on who I want to talk to is ‘do I trust them?’ I don’t trust Alan. It’s nothing personal, I just don’t trust what he writes.”

“I think that he tries to sensationalist everything, but that’s just my personal opinion. Some folks love what he has to say, so it’s all good.”

In previously released excerpts from Shipnuck’s latest publication, ‘Phil. The Rip-roaring (unauthorized) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar’, the 2021 PGA winner created huge controversy as he revealed his thoughts on Saudi Arabia, the planned golf league and the effect on the PGA Tour. Since then, Mickelson has been in exile, entering this week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills, before pulling out just a few days ago.

In the interview, Beem expressed his surprise that Mickelson took so long to withdraw from the second major of the year and hopes that he doesn’t commit to the first LIV event at the Centurion Club in two weeks’ time.

“I was surprised he (Mickelson) was even on the list. I was surprised it got as close as it did. If you look at everything surrounding Phil, and especially with that book coming out, I think that’s a pretty damning book and I think that anybody wouldn’t want to be around.” Beem said.