Phil Mickelson’s Spokeswoman Slams Reporter for ‘Dragging’ Golfer’s Wife Into Allegation-Filled Exposé
Phil Mickelson’s Spokeswoman Slams Reporter for ‘Dragging’ Golfer’s Wife Into Allegation-Filled Exposé
Anna Lazarus CaplanThu, July 2, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC
8
Phil Mickelson with wife Amy in 2011Credit: Chris Condon/Getty -
A spokeswoman for Phil Mickelson is pushing back on allegations of misconduct regarding the golfer that appeared in a recent report
In a lengthy statement to PEOPLE, the spokeswoman called the article published by golf website Skratch an "anonymously sourced drive-by shooting"
Skratch has commented that it "stands by" Shipnuck's reporting.
A spokeswoman for Phil Mickelson is pushing back on allegations of misconduct concerning the LIV Golf star made in a recent article, including claims that his wife, Amy, forced him to leave a golf club over his alleged infidelity.
"Alan Shipnuck’s journalistic stock-in-trade is the anonymously-sourced drive-by shooting, heavy on implication but unsupported by any on-the-record sources,” the spokeswoman said of the author behind the piece in a lengthy statement obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday, July 2. "Shipnuck has spent years attempting to position himself as the definitive authority on Phil Mickelson. This story demonstrates precisely why he is not.”
Shipnuck refuted the statement from Mickelson's representatives in a post shared Thursday on X. He re-shared a lengthy statement made by Skratch's editor-in-chief, Ben Boskovich, that said, in part, "Skratch Golf Stands by its reporting."
In the article published June 28 on the golf website Skratch, Ashley Perez, the estranged wife of pro golfer Pat Perez, spoke out about alleged sexual misconduct by the three-time Masters champ. Her claims came shortly after a separate report detailed allegations of Mickelson's “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with an employee at a golf club.
Perez alleges Mickelson, now 56, “took out his phone and showed her a full-body picture of himself naked with an erection while flexing one bicep” in an 2015 interaction, according to the Skratch article, and propositioned her.
Mickelson’s spokeswoman also slammed Shipnuck for including Amy in his article on Skratch, stating, "There was no legitimate journalistic reason to drag her into it."
“Mrs. Mickelson is not a public figure,” the spokeswoman said in Thursday's statement. “... Shipnuck nevertheless gave anonymous sources a platform to speculate about her marriage, her motives and decisions they had no firsthand knowledge of.”
Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE's free sports newsletter — sign up now!
Advertisement
In the article, Shipnuck — who previously served as senior writer at Sports Illustrated — also reported that Amy was the reason Mickelson left the Madison Club in La Quinta, Calif., amid allegations of infidelity against the golf star.
“Shipnuck's reporting suggests that Mrs. Mickelson orchestrated Mr. Mickelson's departures from golf clubs,” the spokeswoman said in Thursday's statement. “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.”
Late last month, Golf Digestreported that Mickelson resigned from a golf club in Southern California after a female employee accused him of making “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact.”
The article stated that Mickelson is no longer a member at The Farms Golf Club near San Diego after the alleged interaction, which reportedly occurred in the spring.
Mickelson’s spokeswoman also took exception to that report, which Shipnuck referenced in his story.
Phil MickelsonCredit: PETTER ARVIDSON/BILDBYRAN/Shutterstock
“Shipnuck writes that Mr. Mickelson's departure from The Farms ‘seems to be part of a larger pattern,’ then immediately points to his ‘abrupt departures’ from the Madison Club and The Bridges, relying on anonymous sources to suggest those departures were involuntary,” the statement said. “The clear implication is that Mr. Mickelson was forced out of multiple golf clubs. He wasn't.”
It continues, “Mr. Mickelson has never been expelled from a golf club. His membership has never been revoked by a golf club.”
Mickelson has previously denied the allegations from the Golf Digest report and Shipnuck's article through statements via his attorney, Tom Clare.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
