Staggering details emerge about Phil Mickelson's $40 million loss

Phil Mickelson is claimed to have lost upwards of $40 million (AU$56 million) through gambling, according to an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck's forthcoming biography.

Shipnuck posted an excerpt of the unauthorised biography on his “Firepit Collective” site on Thursday.

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The author caused a firestorm late last year when he published remarks from Mickelson concerning the new Saudi-funded golf venture headed by Greg Norman.

Mickelson described the Saudi financial backers of the proposed league as "scary" with a "horrible record on human rights", but said he was willing to deal with them in order to gain leverage to "reshape" the US PGA Tour.

His unauthorised biography on Mickelson is to be released on May 17 during the PGA Championship.

And in a new excerpt, Shipnuck wrote that federal auditors investigated Phil Mickelson's role in an insider trading scheme over four years from 2010 to 2014.

Mickelson was a relief defendant in 2016 in the insider trading case that sent noted gambler Billy Walters to prison.

The author cited a source with direct access to the documents.

Mickelson's annual income in 2012 - the time of the Dean Foods stock deal that netted Mickelson nearly $1 million in one week - was estimated at about $48 million.

“In those prime earning years, his income was estimated to be just north of $40 million a year,” Shipnuck wrote.

“That’s an obscene amount of money, but once he paid his taxes (including the California tariffs he publicly railed against), he was left with, what, low-20s?

"Then he had to cover his plane and mansion(s), plus his agent, caddie, pilots, chef, personal trainer, swing coaches and sundry others.

“Throw in all the other expenses of a big life - like an actual T. Rex skull for a birthday present - and that leaves, what, $10 million? Per the government audit, that’s roughly how much Mickelson averaged in annual gambling losses. And we don’t know what we don’t know.

“In other words, it’s quite possible he was barely breaking even, or maybe even in the red. And Mickelson’s income dropped considerably during his winless years from 2014 to ’17.”

Phil Mickelson and caddy claimed to have 'grievances'

The excerpt also claimed Mickelson was at odds with his former caddy Jim “Bones” Mackay in 2017.

The biography alleges Mackay split with Mickelson after the Memorial that year over 'simmering grievances,' which include back payments.

Shipnuck claimed more details would be provided in the book.

Mickelson has been the talk of the golfing world due to his connection with the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

His comments last year caused widespread criticism prompting Mickelson to later apologise and step away from the PGA Tour, even skipping the Masters at Augusta.

Now, Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf Invitational Series, has claimed the comments impacted the breakaway league's momentum.

"There's no question (it) hurt. It hurt a lot of aspects," Norman told ESPN.

"It hurt the PGA Tour. It hurt us. It hurt the game of golf. It hurt Phil. So yeah, across all fronts. It wasn't just specifically to us. But it definitely created negative momentum against us."

Norman made the big claim that up to 30 per cent of the World's Top 50 players had agreed to participate in the lucrative league.

with AP

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