A sweeping investigative report published this week by Skratch reporter Alan Shipnuck, drawing on interviews with 19 sources and vetted by two media attorneys and a fact-checker, lays out a pattern of alleged misconduct by Phil Mickelson spanning more than a decade, including lewd propositions, graphic sexual behavior, an elaborate deception scheme, and a physical altercation with a female club employee.
Mickelson’s spokesperson did not dispute each claim individually.
“Some of the allegations circulating about Mr. Mickelson are false, and others revisit mistakes he has already acknowledged, publicly or privately,” the statement read, as quoted by Skratch. “Stacking the disputed claims next to the ones he has owned does not make them credible.”
With that in mind, here are five of the most explosive revelations from Shipnuck’s report.
GettyPat Perez and his wife, Ashley Perez, are shown at a golf event.
Mickelson’s Nude Photo Incident With Ashley Perez
The most extensively sourced allegation involves Ashley Perez, former wife of tour pro Pat Perez. During the 2015 Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey, the couple stayed at Mickelson’s villa at Liberty National Golf Course. Ashley told Shipnuck that when Pat stepped away from the patio, Mickelson pulled out his phone and displayed a full-body naked image of himself, and then allegedly told her, “I’m going to leave my bedroom door open tonight. When Pat falls asleep I want you to come see me.” She declined Mickelson’s proposition.
Mickelson apologized twice, once to Pat directly and again during a recorded 26-minute call in 2022, according to Skratch. On that same call, to which Shipnuck says he listened, Pat Perez told Mickelson directly what he had said publicly that November on Claude Harmon’s “Son of a Butch” podcast.
“Phil crossed the line with me that is just uncrossable and unforgivable. He knows that he screwed up. He apologized for the action, but I cannot forgive him for it,” Perez recounted, as quoted by Golf Digest‘s Tod Leonard.
‘Verbal Rape’ Allegation at a Tournament-Week Dinner
A woman whose name was withheld by Shipnuck told the reporter that during a dinner with friends at a tournament week around 2015, Mickelson began asking intrusive personal questions before pivoting to graphic propositions, getting louder and more explicit as the evening progressed. Two other guests corroborated the behavior, Shipnuck reported.
“It was horrible — I was sweating profusely,” the woman was quoted as saying. “It felt like verbal rape.”
Graphic Behavior at Restaurant Dinner
Ashley Perez described a separate alleged incident occurring before the Barclays villa episode, at a restaurant dinner with Mickelson, his agent Steve Loy, Pat Perez, and others. According to Shipnuck, she alleged Mickelson steered the conversation in an explicit direction and used his fingers to graphically demonstrate sexual techniques in front of fellow diners.
“It was incredibly inappropriate — we were at a nice restaurant with a lot of people at the table,” Ashley told Shipnuck. On the 2022 recorded call, Mickelson apologized for his behavior at that dinner as well, according to Skratch.
GettyAmy Mickelson, wife of Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson’s Phone Scheme to Deceive Wife Amy
Sources at The Bridges in Rancho Santa Fe told Shipnuck that Mickelson paid a pro shop employee $500 to drive his phone around the course for hours, maintaining a false GPS trail intended to deceive his wife, Amy Mickelson.
“Amy was tracking his phone; that way, she would think he was out on the golf course,” a source told Shipnuck. “That gave Phil the time to sneak over to this guy’s house and have his secret rendezvous.”
Other sources said he made similar arrangements with fellow members, placing his phone in their golf carts mid-round. His honorary membership at The Bridges was later transferred to 2017 Tour Championship winner Xander Schauffele.
Farms Golf Club Nonconsensual Contact Allegation
In mid-March 2026, a female employee at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe reported that Mickelson made nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact with her before a round, an allegation first reported by Golf Digest‘s Joel Beall and Tod Leonard on June 11. Club officials located Mickelson on the course and instructed him to leave. He resigned his decades-long membership shortly afterward. The club confirmed it had conducted a thorough independent investigation and taken “decisive action.” Mickelson’s attorney Tom Clare initially called it a “misunderstanding” that had been resolved. A club spokesperson confirmed to Golf Digest that no video of the alleged incident existed in the area where it occurred, contrary to Clare’s assertion.
Mickelson has not publicly addressed the Shipnuck report. His spokeswoman said his current focus is a private family health matter and becoming “the husband, father, and man his family deserves,” as quoted by Skratch.
5 Most Explosive Phil Mickelson Allegations From the Shipnuck Report