Golf insider: Phil Mickelson "could have had it all" but has become "a pariah"

Phil Mickelson could have "had it all" but burned through "more goodwill" than any other athlete, claims the golf journalist and author Alan Shipnuck. 

Mickelson is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time but his career has not been without controversy, particularly since he became the oldest player to win a major aged 50 at the 2021 PGA Championship. 

The biggest flashpoint, of course, was his decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022, which caused unprecedented disruption in elite men’s golf. 

And the latest Mickelson controversy arrived earlier in the month after Golf Digest reported Mickelson is no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club in San Diego, after a female employee accused him of "non-consensual and inappropriate physical contact". 

Mickelson had used the high-end club to hone his game for years. 

Mickelson's representatives described the situation as a "misunderstanding" and also suggested misinformation was being circulated.

"He could have had it all," Shipnuck told The Rich Eisen Show. "I mean, Ryder Cup captaincies. 

"He could have sat in the [CBS] tower next to Jim Nantz. He would have been an honorary starter at the Masters and do his dotage and all that's gone now.

"I mean, it's an incredible fall from grace and it's sad. 

"Now, of course, it's all of his own doing so you can only have so much empathy, but just to see a figure who's so beloved sort of this modern-day Arnold Palmer who's now become this pariah and who's reviled and who's disgraced. 

"It's really a stunning, you know, fall from grace and whether Phil will will ever take public ownership of this, you know, he's just been underground this whole season."

Shipnuck was referring to the fact Mickelson has only played one LIV Golf event this year. 

In February, Mickelson announced he was taking a break from the game to attend a "private family health matter" and would miss the first two events of the season. 

But he ended up missing the first four and, although he returned at LIV's stop in South Africa, has continued to lay low. 

Mickelson skipped the Masters and the PGA Championship as well. 

He wasn't eligible for last week's U.S. Open and, although he has registered for next month's Open at Royal Birkdale it remains to be seen whether or not he will play in the final men's major of the year. 

"One of his children had was facing some challenges," Shipnuck said of Mickelson's absence.

Shipnuck claimed that Mickelson did not lose his membership at The Farms but instead resigned. 

However, he said it was a case of jumping before he got pushed. 

"It's just part of this this longer slide into infamy and it's again, you know, Phil's responsible for his own actions."

Shipnuck drew parallels with TIger Woods' career.

Woods, 50, crashed his car in March and has been charged with driving under the influence. 

It was the fourth incident involving the 15-time major champion behind the wheel. 

Woods - who has pleaded not guilty - was allowed to leave the United States to seek treatment overseas.

He made his first public appearance since completing a 90-day rehab programme in Switzerland on Tuesday as the PGA Tour outlined the biggest shake-up coming to the circuit in decades. 

Woods did not take any questions from reporters about his legal situation.

"I just think it's stunning that the biggest the biggest golf icons of more or less our lifetime, you know, Tiger and Phil have brought so much disgrace upon themselves with their behaviour with their addictions with their vices," Shipnuck said. 

"They've been linked since childhood, you know, Phil had all the records in Southern California and Tiger was chasing them and then they were foils, you know, Phil's never quite a rival to Tiger, but he was he was a good foil and now into their 50s that they're just [living] these parallel lives and it's an incredible roller coaster ride with both of them and you know, Tiger just got out of rehab. 

"We'll see where Phil goes from here, but certainly he's facing a long road back to ever being accepted as any kind of elder statesman in the sport."