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Did Phil Mickelson place a substantial wager on the U.S. Ryder Cup to win in 2012?
That is the claim of noted gambler Billy Walters in an excerpt to his forthcoming book “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk.”
According to Walters, who once was regarded as one of the most successful sports bettor in the country, he and Mickelson formed a betting partnership around 2008 that lasted five years. Walters, who was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to commit insider trading from at least 2008 through 2014, was convicted on all 10 counts against him, fined $10 million and sentenced to five years in prison 2017.
In an excerpt to the book, which was published Thursday at Golf Digest and the Fire Pit Collective, Walters claims that Mickelson called him from Medinah Country Club near Chicago, site of the 39th Ryder Cup, and asked him to place a $400,000 wager for him on the U.S. team, of which he was one of 12 team members along with Tiger Woods, to win.
“I could not believe what I was hearing, ‘Have you lost your [expletive] mind? Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose?'” Walters writes, referring to the former Cincinnati Reds manager who was banned from baseball for betting on his own team.
Walter continued to recount the story: “You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,” adding, “You’d risk all that for this? I want no part of it.’’
“Alright, alright,” Walters said Mickelson replied.
Walters goes on to say that he can’t confirm whether Mickelson placed the bet elsewhere.
“Hopefully, he came to his senses, especially considering the ‘Miracle at Medinah,'” Walters wrote.
Team Europe rallied from a 10-6 deficit going into the final day of singles and won 14 ½ to 13 ½, matching the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history (Team USA in 1999).
Mickelson lost his singles match to Justin Rose, who sank a long-range birdie putt at 17 to tie the match. Mickelson walked off the green shaking his head in disbelief. Rose won 18, too, and flipped the match in his favor.
While Walters can’t be sure whether Mickelson placed such a massive bet on the Ryder Cup, he reveals that Mickelson’s gambling losses, previously believed to be $40 million, were actually much closer to $100 million and that over the last 30 years he bet a total of $1 billion.
He goes into details such as that Mickelson “in 2011 alone, made 3,154 bets— an average of nearly nine per day, on one day in 2011 (June 22), he made 43 bets on major-league baseball games, resulting in $143,500 in losses, and he made a staggering 7,065 wagers on football, basketball, and baseball.”
The Walters bio, which also goes into greater detail on the insider trading charges related to Dean Foods that sent him to jail, will be released on Aug. 22. Mickelson was a relief defendant in the civil suit, and agreed to pay back $1.03 million, including profit and interest.
After a nine-hole pro-am Thursday, Mickelson was asked by Golfweek for comment on the allegations in the excerpt and declined, saying “I’m gonna pass today. We’ll talk later.”
Mickelson issued a statement instead, denying he ever bet on the Ryder Cup and saying, “I would never undermine the integrity of the game.”
I never bet on the Ryder Cup. While it is well known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine the integrity of the game.
I have also been very open about my gambling addiction. I have previously conveyed my remorse, took responsibility, have…
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 10, 2023
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