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‘I’ll Go to My Grave Knowing That [Phil Mickelson] Never Asked Me to Go Off the Record’: Alan Shipnuck Makes a Compelling Statement

Published 07/13/2022, 12:23 PM EDT

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via Reuters

Phil Mickelson is one of the most controversial players of all time. The six-time major winner recently transitioned to the new LIV Tour. Before leaving the PGA Tour, Mickelson was in the news for some comments he made about the former tour. All those comments were a part of Mickelson’s biography, written by author and reporter Alan Shipnuck.

Mickelson apologized for the comments he made soon after they went viral. However, he accused the writer of using his off-record statements in the book without his permission. Little did Shipnuck know that writing Mickelson’s biography would make him a part of the tale too.

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Lefty had said what he had to say, but Shipnuck decided to speak up about his side of the story.

Alan Shipnuck speaks up about Phil Mickelson and his biography.

Mickelson has shown his humble side many times and has never shied away when it comes to spending money on acts of kindness. But even Shipnuck did not hesitate to mention Mickelson’s old bad habits along with all his past controversies. But no one, including Shipnuck, knew that he would end up causing another controversy for the player as well as for himself.

via Reuters

Shipnuck started writing about the golf ace back in 1994 when Mickelson was playing his second full schedule professionally. It means the book had its foundations laid almost 30 years ago.

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The writer said that Mickelson always let reporters reach out to him more than other golfers. “It was just fun to be around him. He’s obviously really fun to watch play golf. So I’ve always just kind of followed him,” said Shipnuck.

Shipnuck’s views about going off the record

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Alan Shipnuck made it clear in his statements that whenever he talked to Mickelson, it was always for the book. He said, “And he never asked to go off the record.” And if he had, I would have pushed back really hard. ” He also mentioned that it was his only chance of talking to the golf star and he didn’t want to talk about anything but just the book.

USA Today via Reuters

According to Shipnuck, Mickelson never gave him a hint to keep any part of the conversation off the record. But when the reaction to the book was not what Mickelson was expecting, he gave it another angle, saying the conversations were unauthorized and used without his permission. However, the author was so sure about his statements that he said, “I’ll go to my grave knowing that he never asked me to go off the record and that all those comments were always going to be for the book.”

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Not to mention, famous golfers like Tiger Woods were against Mickelson for all the controversial statements he made for the PGA Tour. Nonetheless, the controversy quickly made headlines and continues to have several loose ends. Shipnuck succeeded in giving the fans a story they could read and consequently form an opinion about Mickelson. He said he never wanted to make the player look bad, but wanted to give them a clear insight about the golfer.

Watch This Story: Tiger Woods Once Had an Epic Response to Phil Mickelson Losing a 200K Bet

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Written by:

Joydeep Singh

1,339Articles

One take at a time

Having completed his Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Joydeep has a writing experience of 4+ years. His interest in golf developed after he tuned in to watch Tiger Woods play. His other interests include singing, playing the guitar and reading about golf.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui

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