For the first time since 1994, Phil Mickelson will not tee it up at the Master’s.
Maybe it’s because Augusta National doesn’t want to deal with the distraction.
In February, Mickelson announced he was taking a leave of absence from the sport after using a Saudi-backed golf circuit as leverage against the PGA Tour.
Maybe it’s not a leave, but rather a suspension levied by the PGA.
Maybe Mickelson isn’t ready to be grilled by the media.
Maybe he’s too embarrassed to play after losing so many sponsors in the aftermath of his comments. KPMG and Amstel Light are out of the Mickelson business. Callaway’s relationship with Mickelson is on hold.
But scandal and shadiness are nothing new for a man who somehow remains one of golf’s most popular figures. Remember the insider trading scandal? How about the millions of illegally gambled dollars that became part of a money laundering operation?
Mickelson is nothing more than a greedy athlete who feels he can leverage his name and power to pull in more cash. Legal, illegal, or shady…it doesn’t matter to Lefty.
Rare is the transgression by a celebrity athlete that is not forgiven. Will Phil be able to bounce back from all of this? Yes.
I’m just not sure how.
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