Phil Mickelson has been under the scrutiny of the public for a long time now owing to his decision to jump ships to LIV Golf following its inception in 2022. The golfer has faced a lot of backlashes and has fallen out with many athletes. However, even so, a few people have stuck close to the player’s side as the whole thing transpired, including the basketball star Charles Barkley.

The friendship that the NBA legend shares with the ‘Lefty’ is widely known in the sporting world. However, in a surprise of sorts, a certain instance of their bond was made public by a famous sportswriter- a not-so-pleasant detail revealed by none other than the LIV golfer’s nemesis!

Golf writer shares a Charles Barkley-Phil Mickelson incident

The backlash received by Mickelson can be tracked down to the famous writer Alan Shipnuck’s books where he revealed the professional of making incendiary comments on Saudi Arabia. However, in another one of his works,?Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorised!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colourful Superstar, the author made another disclosure about the golfer. But this time, it included the basketball star Barkley as well.

In the book, Shipnuck recounts a conversation that the 53-year-old had with the NBA legend. Being an avid pilot, the 45X PGA Tour champ would often try to talk his friend into “flying with him.” However, he was always met with denial as the Philadelphia 76ers star once said, “No f**king way, dude. F**k that s**t,” when the golfer once tried to persuade him.

Continuing on his response, the 60-year-old athlete recalled how he argued with the LIV pro when he called himself a “good pilot.” The Olympic gold medallist expressed his firm belief that people “only get to be good at one thing in life”?all the while refusing to trust his golfer friend. Moreover, adding to his argument, he pointed out how there aren’t any “United Airlines pilots on the PGA Tour.”

Well, the 6X major champ has been on Shipnuck’s sight for some time now. He had even gone ahead to tag the athlete as a “secret agent” a little while ago!

Shipnuck shares LIV Golf’s behind-the-scenes story of Mickelson

In a podcast, Five Clubs with Gary Williams, the author dubbed the 53-year-old as a ?secret agent??who helped in the launching of the Saudi-backed League, that too from the shadows. The 2X PGA Championship winner had initially been a huge supporter of the Premier Golf League, following which he jumped ships to the PIF-funded circuit after the PGL died down.

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The golfer had also gone to the Silver Lake Private Equity Group to get them to invest in his version of a breakaway league. Moreover, the writer also revealed how the American was working for “three sides”?at the same time all the while negotiating with the PGA Tour to better his situation on the circuit.

Well, Shipnuck has made a lot of revelations about Phil Mickelson by now, out of which a lot of them led him into hot waters as well. What did you think of the one with the NBA legend? Share your thoughts below.

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