Phil Mickelson is reportedly nervous about the forthcoming release of famed sports bettor Billy Walters, which lays bare his relationship with Lefty.
There could soon be a fresh news cycle about Phil Mickelson.
That is because on August 15th a new book by Billy Walters will be released.
If you didn’t know, Walters, 76, is a famed sports bettor who went to prison in 2017 for insider trading.
Mickelson was caught up in that scandal and ordered to pay back trading profits of $931,748 plus interest of $105,292.
The book is called “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk”. It’s not expected to paint Mickelson in the most positive light.
Teasing the release, the publisher Simon & Shuster wrote:
“In addition to an against-all-odds American dream story, it reveals in granular detail the secrets of Walters’s proprietary sports betting system, which will serve as a master class for tens of millions of recreational gamblers in America and around the world.
“Walters also breaks his silence about his long and complicated relationship with Hall of Fame professional golfer Phil Mickelson.”
Mickelson previously spoke of his gambling issues when he returned to the game in June 2022.
He spent four months out of the public eye after his inflammatory remarks about working with the Saudis as he helped form LIV Golf went public.
Six-time major champion Mickelson went hiking in Montana, spent more time with his family and reportedly dodged phone calls and ignored text messages asking about his well-being.
“He’s gone dark,” Bryson DeChambeau said when asked about Mickelson before the 86th Masters.
It was the first time in 28 years Mickelson was not playing at Augusta National.
When he returned to the public eye, he explained that his betting had got to a “point of being reckless and embarrassing.”
He added:
“I had to address it. And I’ve been addressing it for a number of years. And for hundreds of hours of therapy.”
At one point in time, Mickelson is said to have owed Walters approximately $2m in gambling debts.
This was brought to the public’s attention when Walters was convicted of all 10 charges against him, fined $10m and jailed for five years.
Walters was released from prison in May 2020. Former U.S. President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.
Mickelson’s attorneys refuted the claim that Mickelson had anything to do with that when approached by Golfweek.
Alan Shipnuck, who published Mickelson’s remarks that led to his fall from grace, believes that Lefty is worried about its forthcoming publication.
“Phil’s nervous about that book, and he probably should be,” Shipnuck wrote on The Fire Pit Collective.
Mickelson will soon be back in action with the LIV Golf League over February 24-26 in Mexico. The team he captains is called the Hy Flyers.
He has already played once in 2023. He missed the cut at the Saudi International.
That was after he shocked golf fans after shedding a huge amount of weight during the holidays.
Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com