Accusations have surfaced this week about six-time major champion Phil Mickelson making inappropriate contact with a female employee at a private golf club he was a member at. In a statement from his attorney, Mickelson appears to be ready to fight the allegations against him.
His attorney, Tom Clare, told Golf Digest that there is video evidence that will exonerate Mickelson of any wrongdoing. “There is a great deal of misinformation circulating and, while Phil’s full attention is devoted to a private family health matter, he has retained defamation counsel and is determined to hold accountable any publication or individual trafficking in speculation or false rumors.” According to the Golf Digest reporting, The Farms Golf Club claims that there is no camera footage of the incident.
The incident occurred at The Farms Golf Club, in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Mickelson is no longer a member of the golf club and was removed from the golf course on the day of the incident. According to Golf Digest, a female employee accused Mickelson of, “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” prior to a round. The incident was reported to supervisors and Mickelson was asked to leave the property in the middle of his round.
Anonymous sources were cited by Golf Digest about the unwanted contact with a female employee at the club. While not much has been divulged from the situation, a spokesperson for Mickelson did tell Golf Digest, “Any misunderstanding has been cleared up. Phil continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf.”
The Farms Golf Club also provided a statement to Golf Digest. The statement included the following about the situation. “Following a staff member report of member misconduct, the Club provided immediate and ongoing support to the staff member, conducted a thorough independent investigation of the incident and took decisive action. This individual is no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club.”
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office provided a statement to the Athletic, noting that they have not received any reports of a sexual assault from The Farms Golf Club. “The Sheriff’s Office has made attempts to locate any evidence to support the potential allegation of a sexual assault,” the statement read. “At this time, we have not located any evidence to show an assault has occurred. The Sheriff’s Office would absolutely investigate further if provided additional evidence or information.”
The 55-year-old Mickelson has only played in one LIV event this season as spokespeople for the future hall-of-fame player continue to say that he has been dealing with a private, family health matter. He did not play in the Masters or the PGA Championship this season and will not be in the field this week for the U.S. Open, the only major he has not won.
Once one of the game’s most beloved figures, it has been a fall from grace for Mickelson, who was one of the early players to depart from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. Mickelson faced a lot of backlash over comments quoted by him in a report by Alan Shipnuck. In the article, Mickelson was quoted saying the following about the Saudi Public Investment Fund, “We know they killed (Washington Post columnist 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.”
After these comments and leaving the PGA Tour, sponsors dropped Mickelson in 2022 as he joined LIV Golf. His play has dropped off severely since, missing cuts in 9 of the 14 majors he has played since the move to LIV.
Where Mickelson goes from here remains to be seen. He was once a shoe-in for Ryder Cup captaincy and to become a fan favorite on the PGA Tour Champions, but these bridges may be completely burned, leaving Mickelson in no-man’s land if LIV Golf ends following the 2026 season.
Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. Mike can be reached at [email protected] for inquiries or story leads.
