In his new book “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk” prolific sports bettor Billy Walters – one of the most successful sports gamblers of all time – had an absolutely shocking story about golf superstar Phil Mickelson, revealing that Mickelson once tried to place a massive wager on a Ryder Cup in which he was competing.
In the book, Billy Walters details his relationship and partnership with Phil Mickelson and revealed a time when Mickelson approached him about betting on his own team to win the 39th Ryder Cup.
“In late September 2012, Phil called me from Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago, site of the 39th Ryder Cup matches between the United States and Europe. He was feeling supremely confident that the American squad led by Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, and Phil himself was about to reclaim the Cup from the Euros. He was so confident that he asked me to place a $400,000 wager for him on the U.S. team to win,” Walters said in his book, according to Golf Digest.
Walters refused Mickelson’s request and strongly advised that Mickelson reconsider the move.
“‘Have you lost your [freaking] mind?’ I told him. ‘Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose?’ The former Cincinnati Reds manager was banned from baseball for betting on his own team. ‘You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,’ I added. ‘You’d risk all that for this? I want no part of it,'” Walters wrote.
Ultimately, Walters does not know whether or not Mickelson got somebody else to place the bet on his behalf. But if he did, he would have lost the wager as the Europeans bested the Americans, pulling off the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history.
