19th Hole

‘He’s lied maliciously about me’ – Alan Shipnuck hits back at Phil Mickelson and brings receipts

Published

2 years ago

Nov 28, 2023

The ongoing feud between Phil Mickelson and the author of the book Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar, Alan Shipnuck, continued on Monday.

Previously, Shipnuck shared on X that shared that he’d been told Phil Mickelson was telling people that Rahm to LIV was a “done deal.”

Phil retorted by slamming Shipnuck, calling the author “the worst liar and a pathetic human.”

Mickelson also responded directly in a (now deleted) tweet.

Here is Phil Mickelson’s (now deleted) response to Alan Shipnuck. pic.twitter.com/CT3nCVeDX8

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) November 26, 2023

This week, Shipnuck fired back at Phil, and he brought receipts.

.@PhilMickelson wants me to reveal confidential sources. I don’t do that. I do try to be fair to anybody I write about.

When I was working on the Mickelson biography “Phil,” he called me because he wanted me to know what was really happening behind the scenes with LIV Golf and… pic.twitter.com/OzT9F8ZFtB

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) November 27, 2023

“When I was working on the Mickelson biography “Phil,” he called me because he wanted me to know what was really happening behind the scenes with LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. During that call Phil famously said, “They’re scary motherfuckers to get involved with. We know they killed [Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it?”

“During that riff he cited a specific gay person he is close with to help make his point. It didn’t feel right in the moment but he just kept talking and I let it go. I subsequently sent Phil a fact-checking email about the most sensitive material in the book (screenshots below). I wanted to give Phil a chance to reconsider his comment about this person’s sexuality. Throughout the entire process of writing the book, I tried to be transparent and fair to Mickelson; it’s clear from my fact-checking email that I am using his comments about the Saudis in my book. Phil never responded to my email but his lawyer Pat Swan did and we spoke by phone on Jan. 1, 2022. (While putting the book together I had conversations with two other lawyers employed by Mickelson.) Swan said Phil appreciated my sensitivity and would like me to remove the comment about the person’s sexuality, which I was happy to do. Neither Mickelson or Swan ever raised any concerns about me using the other contents of my phone call with Phil in the book.

“After his comments were published in an excerpt on http://FirePitCollective.com, creating an intense controversy, Mickelson claimed our conversation had been off-the-record. I had previously asked him three times face-to-face to sit for interviews; we both knew this phone call was for the book and everything he told me was going in its pages. He never asked to go off-the-record. If he had, I would have pushed back hard because this was my one chance to interview him for the book. In October ’22, Mickelson made another confounding statement: “So I will reiterate, I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck.”

Phil can say whatever he wants but that doesn’t make it true. He has lied maliciously about me and I think his current comments should be seen through that lens.”

One clarification: In my email to Phil, where I say, “Even though you’ve made it clear you don’t really want to answer any questions” – that was a reference to our phone call, which he began by saying, “Just so you know, I don’t want to answer a million questions about my life, I…

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) November 27, 2023

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”