Phil Mickelson announced Tuesday he will be stepping away from the PGA Tour for an undisclosed amount of time to focus on himself and his family, after his public criticism of The Tour while speaking on the controversial new golf league backed by Saudi Arabian investments.
Mickelson, despite now being overshadowed by the younger, star-studded cast of golfers, remains one of the most recognizable players in the sport. And it's likely that his name alone elicits some bettors who place golf wagers to do a double-take upon hearing the news.
Mickelson, after all, was responsible for delivering sportsbooks one of their biggest hits in golf history, as told by ESPN, when the lefty won the 2021 edition of the PGA Championship. It was the second time he won the event. At that time, he was the first golfer in more than a decade to win a major with odds of 200-to-1 or longer, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Mickelson sits at 100-to-1 to win The Open Championship in 2022. There was (and still may be) a case to be made pertaining to that specific price if Mickelson is to return before the tournament is held starting July 14. It's the last of the four majors perhaps providing a bit more optimism that Mickelson could return -- should the PGA Tour want to have him back after his public criticisms.
That is just one of the four major betting boards in which the six-time major champion sits far down the line. Oddsmakers haven't changed their tune on Mickelson's prices despite Tuesday's development, perhaps best indicating where he now stands in the pecking order of needle-movers.
Mickelson is 80-to-1 to win each of the other three majors, according to DraftKings, including the 2022 Masters starting April 7, the PGA Championship starting May 19 (where he would enter as defending champion) and the 2022 U.S. Open starting June 16 at The Country Club in Brookline. It wouldn't be a major shock to see Mickelson miss the Masters, an event he's won three times, given that it's the first of the four and just over a month away.
All four tournaments have a similar top of the betting board featuring Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson with Jordan Spieth among the mix when it relates to the Masters.
