Golfer Phil Mickelson checked himself into a facility earlier this year “seeking treatment for family trauma and addiction,” a representative for the six-time major championship winner said in a statement to news outlets on Wednesday.
Mickelson, 56, reportedly is no longer at the facility. No information about the specifics of his stay or details about his reasons for entering the program have been made available.
In February, Mickelson announced that he would miss the first two LIV Golf events of the year because he and his wife, Amy, “need to be present for a family health matter.”
The only tournament that the golfer known as “Lefty” has competed in this year was LIV Golf South Africa, where he finished at 7-under par and tied for 48th place, in March.
The following month, Mickelson announced he was withdrawing from the Masters and that he would “be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter.”
In June, Golf Digest reported that a female member of the staff at the Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe had accused Mickelson of making “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with her months earlier.
Mickelson hired defamation attorney Tom Clare, who said video evidence contradicted the allegations.
In response to the Golf Digest report, a spokesperson for Mickelson said in a statement: “Any misunderstanding has been cleared up. Phil continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf.”
A longtime gambling enthusiast, Mickelson admitted in a 2023 Instagram post that at some point he had “crossed the line of moderation and into addiction” but was “back on track to being the person I want to be.”
“After many years of receiving professional help, not gambling, and being in recovery from my addictions, I’m now able to sit still, be present in the moment and live each day with an inner calm and peace,” Mickelson wrote. “I still have a lot of cleaning up to do with those I love the most but I’m doing it slowly and as best I can.”
