Is Phil Mickelson Golf's Version of Gordon Gekko?

[Middler]

On 2/28/2022 at 11:23 AM, russtopherb said:

FWIW, I don't think Phil loses his "lifetime" contract with Callaway over this. They have so much tied into him that I think they'll take this "pause" and wait for things to calm down. We won't be seeing him in any ads for quite some time, however Callaway has sunk so much into him over the years that I don't think they'll walk away entirely. I could be very off with this, but when you have a relationship that's got so much history with someone who's tied into the brand as much as Phil is, it's tough to sever that relationship.

I would assume it all hinges on if/when Phil restores his appeal with fans again, otherwise I don’t see why Callaway would throw money at him. I’d say he’ll never get 100% of his fans back, some won’t forgive this episode soon, and some never.

And he’s well past his playing prime anyway, there’s no getting around that.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/24-athletes-lost-huge-endorsement-090239873.html

[Siamese Moose]

I'll remind folks that this isn't Phil's first bad PR rodeo. Before Callaway he was sponsored by Titleist. He burned Titleist pretty badly, so much so that they cut him off in just a day.

[BIG STU]

13 hours ago, Siamese Moose said:

Callaway is in a bind. I don't think they want to lose Phil, but with the other sponsors breaking away, if they don't do something they risk looking like they're supporting the Saudis by being the outlier. "Pause", rather than "break", lets them see how the PR develops. 

(Edit for grammar.)

Good Synopsis well put. As far as edited for grammar no one on here gets bent out of shape over bad grammar. If they did I would have been off of here years ago trust me. But if you feel like you need to present proper grammar then by all means do that too no one on here gets bent over that either

[Siamese Moose]

3 hours ago, BIG STU said:

As far as edited for grammar no one on here gets bent out of shape over bad grammar. 

I had a minor in English and one of my old work duties was proofreading. I  get bent out of shape when I make a mistake! (I've long ago gotten over worrying about anyone else.)

[PMookie]

I still find it perplexing that all of the sponsors have dumped him especially when DeChambeau and others who are supposedly going to that league haven’t lost a sponsor. It can’t be that it’s because he’s going to play for Saudis. I read the comments numerous times. I don’t get it. 

[TBS]

10 minutes ago, PMookie said:

I still find it perplexing that all of the sponsors have dumped him especially when DeChambeau and others who are supposedly going to that league haven’t lost a sponsor. It can’t be that it’s because he’s going to play for Saudis. I read the comments numerous times. I don’t get it. 

I think it is the nature of his comments in his interview with Shipnuck. Unlike other players, who hinted at joining the Saudi league or had someone leak their intentions to golf media, Phil has been much more vocal about his (perceived issues) with the PGA tour. If you read Phil's comments, he is coming off as unhinged and trying to justify greed as disruption. He admits to being in a group with 3 other pros that helped pay for attorney fees to draft the operating agreement of the new league. That would be like Phil getting Rahm and Kisner to help an upstart club manufacturer get off the ground. Shows lack of loyalty. Who would want someone like that representing your brand?

The PGA Tour has players rule that they will punish players for "conduct unbecoming". I believe that Phil's comments will fall under that and they could have already implemented some form of punishment. The tour is very private about their punishments.

I'm thinking that sponsors aren't worried about the Saudi league (except the ones who already remove logos for events there-DJ has had to remove RBC logos when he has played over there), they are worried about what he might say or do next. 

[BIG STU]

8 hours ago, Siamese Moose said:

I had a minor in English and one of my old work duties was proofreading. I  get bent out of shape when I make a mistake! (I've long ago gotten over worrying about anyone else.)

LOL I can understand it is sorta an ingrained thing ----- Had a lady at my former Church who was a retired English teacher from Connecticut. Really she is a sweet lady but she would get bent out of shape over some of our abuses of verbal English language---- I finally told her one day to lighten up She was now retired and living in South Carolina---- Actually you have to get used to me all the old members on here know I will pull someone's chain in a heartbeat

[BIG STU]

10 hours ago, EasyPutter said:

I use " Getting it right" to correct whatever and I'm not saying if that is grammar or not lol

I've been a Phil supporter for as long as I have been interested in Golf but I am also about what is right and good.  Right now getting lots of practice discerning to work out what to believe about all this, and it would seem to be a big pile of dung he's stepped into and rightly so he wants to pause and regroup.  My faith requires me to forgive... but oh the struggle!  Maybe that is the focus for the next 40 days... 

On a completely different note, I have an opening for favorite Tour pro... wish he would just stick to amazing creativity hitting a golf ball to entertain and amaze.

Yes our faith requires us to forgive. In my case it requires me to think and not get too concerned on what others say or do as long as it does not directly affect me or my wife. LOl I am the guy that has to pray 3 or 4 times a day " Lord keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth"

[MGoBlue100]

On 2/23/2022 at 5:45 PM, Hook DeLoft said:

 I don't think this has been about money other than money being a way to keep score.  I think Norman and Mickelson are interested in power and the golf world is the place they think they can wield it. 

 

Maybe so.  We may never really know at this point.

[MGoBlue100]

On 2/28/2022 at 5:09 PM, fixyurdivot said:

Social media and the court of public opinion, at times, has some not so nice parallels with Salem, MA in 1692  .

Phil hasn't committed crimes against humanity but rather made some poor decisions and comments in his attempt to change PGA policies he does not agree with. NFL, MLB, and NBA players have unions to battle for policy changes they wish to see.  Based on what I understand of how the PGA players operate under the PGA, they are somewhat on their own to enact changes (i.e. Hoffman's latest issue on rules). I'd be very surprised if no other PGA players agree with what Phil is trying to get changed.  I'd be surprised that he's not had these discussions with fellow players leading up to the mess. Of course, at this point, none would likely state as such simply because of the toxic situation; but I suspect a number of them support the idea.

Throwing this out as for perspective... which often gets lost in the social media feeding frenzy.

 

 

I listened to the latest SubPar podcast yesterday with Pat Perez (whom I LOVE, btw).  His take was similar to what you're saying:  Phil did it mostly for Phil, in Pat's opinion, but Pat also agreed with many of the things Phil was supposedly trying to get accomplished, and has already potentially gotten done (PIP, more money in some tournament purses, etc) that really only affect the top echelon of the Tour.  Pat's comments were pretty funny however regarding how poorly Phil went about doing everything.  It's a great listen if you like Pat, don't mind a little language and want to have a good laugh.

[BIG STU]

5 hours ago, MGoBlue100 said:

I listened to the latest SubPar podcast yesterday with Pat Perez (whom I LOVE, btw).  His take was similar to what you're saying:  Phil did it mostly for Phil, in Pat's opinion, but Pat also agreed with many of the things Phil was supposedly trying to get accomplished, and has already potentially gotten done (PIP, more money in some tournament purses, etc) that really only affect the top echelon of the Tour.  Pat's comments were pretty funny however regarding how poorly Phil went about doing everything.  It's a great listen if you like Pat, don't mind a little language and want to have a good laugh.

Yeah I like Pat myself--- Long haired and plays his game and could care two hoots less what others think

 

[Muckinfiddle]

On 2/5/2022 at 12:58 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

And he knew all that when he chose to play on tour. This is Phil being Phil. 

True but things aren't going to change unless someone initiates change. People sit back and put up with stuff because they think no one's going to stand with them similarly to how Phil's getting treated.

On 2/5/2022 at 11:39 AM, cnosil said:

Maybe I am misinterpreting Phil's statements but the point of the articles is that the PGA tour is capitalizing off images and videos that they have of him and charge for their use by other companies and the player themselves.    Sure Phil has made over $92 million dollars, but is that really relevant to the point that he is trying to make?   Kind of sounds like the exact argument that college athletes are making and are now getting paid for the use of their likenesses.   should it matter if a player is worth $10K or $10M?

 

There are some guys that were on the tour that have made some incredible shots that are frequently used for advertising purposes, who could probably use a few extra bucks in their pocket to make off their own likeness. Even if Phil was saying it for himself, it still could benefit the guys that didn't eek out a living playing golf like others.

On 2/5/2022 at 11:44 AM, jlukes said:

It’s not like phil has been prevented from using his own likeness for getting sponsorships and marketing deals

But some one hit wonders wouldn't mind using theirs...

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Muckinfiddle said:

True but things aren't going to change unless someone initiates change. People sit back and put up with stuff because they think no one's going to stand with them similarly to how Phil's getting treated.

Phil is getting treated for how Phil acted. He chose to handle it in public instead of working with the tour and the players group to work on changes.

Phil has always been trash but he was able to fool people for all these years and now people are unwilling to admit they’ve been played by him

[Muckinfiddle]

21 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Phil is getting treated for how Phil acted. He chose to handle it in public instead of working with the tour and the players group to work on changes.

Phil has always been trash but he was able to fool people for all these years and now people are unwilling to admit they’ve been played by him

I'm not necessarily a fan of Phil but I enjoy candor over watered down Bs. He could be right here, I don't know everything about the situation. Unpopular opinion isn't always a bad thing. Not everyone is a corporate hack thank God.

[Middler]

1 hour ago, Muckinfiddle said:

I'm not necessarily a fan of Phil but I enjoy candor over watered down Bs. He could be right here, I don't know everything about the situation. Unpopular opinion isn't always a bad thing. Not everyone is a corporate hack thank God.

Phil is well known as one of the biggest BSers on tour, with a carefully groomed image that's not the real Phil - that's why he had big endorsement deals with the "corporate hacks." Phil is the epitome of a corporate hack. There have been glimpses of his BS over the years, but he revealed himself to all in a big way this time - and he's going to pay the price, as he should. With a net worth of $400 million from career winnings and endorsements he's the last guy who should be calling out the PGA for "obnoxious greed." Self aware much? Give me a break.

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Muckinfiddle said:

I'm not necessarily a fan of Phil but I enjoy candor over watered down Bs. He could be right here, I don't know everything about the situation. Unpopular opinion isn't always a bad thing. Not everyone is a corporate hack thank God.

He knows the way the tour operates in regards to what the tour has rights to for content and what the players can and can’t do. Phil is a PR machine. He thought he could use his name and his PR skills to get the tour to change their way of doing business and play both sides of the situation pitting the tour against Saudi tour and thinking the tour would cave to one of their big names. He went about it the wrong way to start and then piled on and made it worse. His gamble lost and everyone finally got to see phil for who Phil is. Those blinded by their fanboy of Phil won’t admit they were wrong despite all this.

Phil lost and now suffers the consequences for his actions 

[Muckinfiddle]

4 hours ago, Middler said:

Phil is well known as one of the biggest BSers on tour, with a carefully groomed image that's not the real Phil - that's why he had big endorsement deals with the "corporate hacks." Phil is the epitome of a corporate hack. There have been glimpses of his BS over the years, but he revealed himself to all in a big way this time - and he's going to pay the price, as he should. With a net worth of $400 million from career winnings and endorsements he's the last guy who should be calling out the PGA for "obnoxious greed." Self aware much? Give me a break.

I agree Phil has been greedy and some of the underhanded stuff has been caught but if everyone was PC with stock answers life would be boring. At least he's not a real politician f-ing up the country and it's only golf. I wouldn't call him a corporate hack he's more like a corporate sleaze ball. I guess if you are aggressive and want to make a lot of money and do it, I really don't have a problem with it other than doing it at the expense of others or cheating people.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Muckinfiddle

[LICC]

On 3/27/2022 at 7:27 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

Phil is getting treated for how Phil acted. He chose to handle it in public instead of working with the tour and the players group to work on changes.

Phil has always been trash but he was able to fool people for all these years and now people are unwilling to admit they’ve been played by him

To your point, Phil just keeps stepping in it, knocking Bones now. I used to like Phil but the real person is coming out and showing how big of a jerk he is.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/golf/news-1mil-player-phil-mickelson-claims-overpaid-ex-caddie-jim-bones-mackay-14-earnings