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Mickelson is known as "Lefty" for being left-handed, which is not as common in golf as in other sports where it can be advantage such as [[baseball]] and [[tennis]].  (He is actually right-handed, but learned to swing left-handed by mimicking his father's stance in a mirror.)  

Mickelson is known as "Lefty" for being left-handed, which is not as common in golf as in other sports where it can be advantage such as [[baseball]] and [[tennis]].  (He is actually right-handed, but learned to swing left-handed by mimicking his father's stance in a mirror.)  

Mickelson is so popular that the new [[LIV]] players' group paid him a reported $200M to join its tour in 2022.  LIV is holding two of its tournaments in 2022 at [[Trump]]-owned golf courses.

Mickelson is so popular that the new [[LIV]] players' group paid him a reported $200M to join its tour in 2022.  LIV repeatedly held its tournaments at [[Trump]]-owned golf courses and thereby rejected the [[liberal]] [[PGA Tour]]'s [[boycott]] of Trump.

However, Mickelson's popularity has declined in recent years, after allegations of insider trading (he agreed to a settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission whereby he returned all of the profits made from a trade which was questioned as illegal) and excessive gambling debts; the latter being the source of speculation that the LIV Tour decision was more financial than a desire to compete on a new format.

However, Mickelson has struggled with his weight and reportedly racked up excessive [[gambling]] losses,<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/19/sport/phil-mickelson-gambling-addiction-golf-spt-intl/index.html</ref> which sparked speculation that his decision to join the LIV Tour decision was motivated more by financial considerations than by a desire to compete in a new format.

== References ==

== References ==

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[[category:golf]]

[[category:golf]]

[[category:LIV]]

[[category:LIV]]