Ah, yet another Phil Mickelson gambling story.
There’s gotta be hundreds of them, given the fact that Mickelson will bet on most anything and in particular, he’s gotta have some action on the golf course.
The latest tale of Philly The Gambler comes from an Australian newspaper — The Sydney Morning Herald.
Seems the Vicar of Vegas was playing with 17-year-old Aussie Ryan Ruffels at Torrey Pines a while back. Also seems Mickelson’s brother, Tim, was tagging along. The “other” Mickelson is the golf coach at Arizona State.
The story is pretty clear as relayed by “The Kid.”
Seems Riverboat Lefty told young Ruffels that he doesn’t get out of bed for anything less than $2,500.
Undeterred, The Kid, proceeds to get 2-to-1 odds from The Baron of Bookies with the disclaimer that if The Kid loses, he can pay up after he turns pro.
Seems The Kid has already turned pro, so game on.
Here’s The Kid’s account as told to the Morning Herald:
“I was a few down through nine but then I birdied six of my last seven to win by a shot and took his money so that was pretty cool.”
Oh but wait, there’s more.
Seems the agent for the just-turned-pro Ruffels is claiming this all may not be exactly as it happened.
“The ‘friendly wager’ story and the birdie barrages reporting is a bit overdone.” So says Wasserman Media Group.
Oh really?
So is “The Kid” telling tubbies?
Did he or did he not pluck five-large out of Philly Mick’s incredibly deep pockets?
Money-bags Mickelson may have some “splainin” to do this week. He’s making his 2016 PGA Tour debut at the CareerBuilders Challenge. Ironically, if Mickelson did lose five-grand to “The Kid” then he has become a strange sort of “CareerBuilder” for The Kid.
Oh by the way, The Kid makes his pro debut at the end of the month at the Farmers, played at Torrey Pines and we’re guessing that Riverboat Philly will be there too.
