A pattern of behavior that got Phil Mickelson booted from one private golf club apparently wasn’t a one-off situation. New reporting suggests the six-time major winner has been asked to leave at least two other high-end clubs in recent years, and the reasons all point in the same direction.
Earlier this month, The Farms Golf Club in San Diego revoked Mickelson’s membership after a female employee accused him of making unconsensual physical contact with her last spring. That was the story that broke into the mainstream. But according to a report from Alan Shipnuck of Skratch, it’s part of a longer history. Shipnuck writes that Mickelson had abrupt departures from two other exclusive Southern California clubs: the Madison Club and The Bridges in Rancho Santa Fe. Sources at both clubs told Shipnuck that Mickelson’s personal conduct was a primary factor.
“Seventeen years after Tiger Woods’s serial infidelities exploded into a tabloid-fueled scandal, his onetime rival may now be facing his own reckoning,” Shipnuck wrote.
An Ex-Wife Speaks Out
Ashley Perez, who was married to professional golfer Pat Perez, told Skratch about an incident with Mickelson in 2015 that she says she’s kept quiet about until now. According to Perez, Mickelson showed her a nude photo of himself and then made an explicit request. She says Mickelson told her, “I’m going to leave my bedroom door open tonight. When Pat falls asleep I want you to come see me.”
Perez said the encounter made her feel uncomfortable and that she’s speaking publicly now because she believes the silence around Mickelson’s behavior needs to break. “There is a culture of silence that keeps women from coming forward,” Perez said. “I want to give other women the courage to share their truth. With Phil, I feel like the pattern has been there for many years but people have been afraid to go public because it’s Phil Mickelson. We give these golfers so much adulation and money, they think they’re gods. They think they’re untouchable. Being a pro athlete doesn’t exempt you from behaving respectfully in society.”
Neither Mickelson nor his representatives have commented publicly on Perez’s account or the allegations from The Farms Golf Club employee. The PGA Tour has not issued a statement on any of the claims. Mickelson remains a prominent figure in the sport, most recently playing on the LIV Golf circuit, where he’s been one of the league’s biggest draw cards since his controversial defection from the PGA Tour.
But club memberships are a different kind of currency in golf. Being asked to leave one is notable. Three starts to look like more than coincidence.
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