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19th Hole

This hilarious tale suggests Phil Mickelson may not be the wine expert everyone thinks he is

Published

2 years ago

on

On Thursday, Phil Mickelson made his long-awaited playing return on home soil at the U.S. Open at Brookline, shooting a disappointing 78 to all but end his hopes of completing an unlikely career grand slam.

Mickelson has been largely absent from 2022 after Alan Shipnuck’s book “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar” revealed Lefty’s intentions to use the Saudi-backed LIV Golf group as leverage against the PGA Tour.

Shipnuck’s biography hits the shelves in Europe today, allowing plenty more eyeballs to peer into the wild and entertaining life of the most charismatic golfer of his time.

One particular tale from the book revolved around a bottle of red wine and a hustle that likely even Mickelson would grudgingly have to respect. Phil is well known for his love of wine, but on this particular day, his game was off.

The incident occurred at Pebble Beach when on-course reporters Peter Kostis and Gary McCord were at the house of a man named Ernie Garcia.

In the book, Kostis picks up the story saying:

“It’s a great house with a formidable wine cellar, we dug around pretty deep. The last bottle we had before Phil came to join us was an 82 Petrus, a Bordeaux that can retail for low 5-figures a bottle.

Knowing Phil was coming, we got some 86 Silver Oak, a perfectly good Cabernet that sells for around $120 and poured it into the Petrus bottle that we had just emptied. We put the cork back in with a corkscrew in it so that it looks like we’re in the middle of opening it up. Phil arrives and says, ‘What are we drinking, boys?’ and I say, ‘well, it’s 82 Petrus’. Phil’s an expert on everything in his own mind, so he’s excited because he knows this is a big bottle of wine. We pour him a glass, he takes a sip, and he smacks his lips and goes, ‘Ahh, nectar of the Gods’

To this day, Phil doesn’t know that we switched it out, and you know he’s out there telling everyone that 82 Petrus is the best wine he’s ever had.”

While the biography has generated plenty of negative reaction from Mickelson’s beloved fans, there is an abundance of tales from the book that will likely make his supporters admire golf’s most colorful superstar even more.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

Published

1 hour ago

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May 8, 2024

By

On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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19th Hole

PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

Published

1 hour ago

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May 8, 2024

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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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19th Hole

Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’

Published

19 hours ago

on

May 7, 2024

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On Tuesday, the full field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla was released. In some surprising news, a handful of LIV players were granted exemptions including Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk.

The most surprising omission was Louis Oosthuizen. The South African has been one of the most consistent players on LIV this season, and also won two DP World Tour events in the fall.

According to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was actually given an invitation, but declined due to “personal commitments”.

In total, there will be 16 LIV golfers teeing it up next week at Valhalla.

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