Golf writer Alan Shipnuck shared a report via Skratch on June 26, 2026. It added to the accusations leveled against Phil Mickelson of inappropriate behavior with an employee of The Farms Golf Club, as reported by Golf Digest last month. The report, which Shipnuck said was based on 19 interviews, alleged a pattern of similar behavior in the past. It also alleged that the reported misconduct was linked to his departures from three high-end California golf clubs: The Farms, the Madison Club, and The Bridges.

Now, Phil Mickelson’s camp has mounted a blistering defense against the golf writer’s report. David Rumsey of Front Office Sports shared two images of the statement from the spokeswoman for the LIV golfer’s team. Portions of the statement were first published by the New York Post, but Rumsey shared images of the entire 738-word statement.

“Shipnuck’s reporting suggests that Mrs. Mickelson orchestrated Mr. Mickelson’s departures from golf clubs. That is false. Mr. Mickelson has never been forced by his wife or by any golf club to surrender his membership. Those decisions were his alone. The anonymous source offers nothing to establish firsthand knowledge of Mrs. Mickelson’s role. Instead, the source’s personal assumption about her involvement is presented as fact, and that unsupported speculation has since been repeated by other media outlets as though it were established truth. It is not,” portions of the statement read.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

On Which Hole Jordan Spieth’s Ball Got Stuck Under a Trashcan?

14th 15th16th 17th

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

Lefty’s team is calling Shipnuck’s report baseless, dubbing it a “drive-by shooting” story aimed to create a “compelling, clickbait narrative.” Firstly, it claims that Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy Mickelson, didn’t want to be part of the report, and there was no journalistic reason for her mention. Notably, the report did more than mention her name; it implied that she was behind Mickelson’s membership resignations. The statement also challenged Shipnuck’s claims of Mickelson calling Pat Perez to apologize for showing an explicit photograph to his former wife, Ashley Perez.

“The same reporting failures appear elsewhere. Shipnuck repeats an allegation regarding a photograph while downplaying a critical fact contained in his own reporting. During a private call in which Mr. Mickelson reached out to apologize for his behavior, he immediately challenged the central premise of that allegation by asking, “You mean topless?” That distinction matters. Mr. Mickelson’s willingness to apologize for his conduct should not be misconstrued as an admission of every allegation made against him,” the statement read.

Besides that, Shipnuck shared an alleged quote from a member of The Bridges who stated that “Amy was tracking his (Mickelson’s) phone.” According to the statement, the Skratch report portrayed the “ordinary ‘Find My’ family feature, used by millions of families every day, as something sinister.” It also accused the report of implying that golf clubs forced out the six-time major winner without explicitly making that claim. The statement disputed this alleged implication, and according to Mickelson’s team, that is why Shipnuck never mentioned it in plain words.

Another key point involved the platform that published the allegations. The statement said that the PGA Tour created Skratch and operated it for nearly a decade before handing it over to Pro Shop, a new media company where it holds a minority stake. While acknowledging that Skratch can report independently, the statement alleges a corporate relationship with the PGA Tour before highlighting that Phil Mickelson is “one of the most consequential players ever to leave the PGA TOUR for LIV Golf.” Lefty joined the rebel league in 2022 and remains one of its most vocal supporters.

Toward the end, the statement claims that disclosing this detail would have given readers adequate context, alleging that Alan Shipnuck’s report instead created a false narrative based on anonymous speculation. Amid all this, Phil Mickelson has decided to skip another major championship.

Phil Mickelson withdraws from the Open Championship 2026

Phil Mickelson has been mostly absent from professional golf throughout this season. He has only played one LIV Golf event in South Africa in 2026. The reason he provided for this hiatus was a family health matter.

Now he is skipping the 2026 Open Championship, too. As a past champion, Phil Mickelson is eligible to play the last major of the season until he turns 60. This will be the first time he won’t tee up for the Open Championship in 17 years. In fact, he didn’t participate in any of the major events this year. Lefty holds the Open Championship quite close to his heart. After his win in 2013, he admitted that it was one of the most challenging events he had played. It took him about a decade of practice to win on a links course.

According to NUCLR GOLF on X, the decision to skip the final major event was made a while back, but was revealed hours after the allegations emerged. Questions continue to surround Phil Mickelson’s future on the course and the allegations off it. While his team strongly rejected Alan Shipnuck’s reporting, the controversy remains in the spotlight.