Phil Mickelson has rejected allegations that misconduct towards women led to his departure from three private California golf clubs, with his representatives describing an investigation by golf publication Skratch as an “anonymously sourced drive-by shooting”.

The Skratch report, written by journalist Alan Shipnuck and based on interviews with 19 sources, alleged that the six-time major champion was no longer welcome at The Farms Golf Club, The Madison Club and The Bridges because of inappropriate behaviour. It also carried Ashley Perez’s claim that Mickelson showed her an explicit photograph of himself in 2015 and propositioned her; Perez was formerly married to PGA Tour player Pat Perez.

In a statement sent to the New York Post on 1 July, Mickelson’s camp denied that any club had removed him. “Mr Mickelson has never been expelled from a golf club. His membership has never been revoked by a golf club. Those decisions were his alone,” the statement said.

On the Perez allegation, the statement said the published account left out an important point from a subsequent call in which Mickelson apologised, characterising the episode as a misunderstanding. “Mr Mickelson’s willingness to apologise for his conduct should not be misconstrued as an admission of every allegation made against him,” it added.

The Farms incident that preceded the investigation

The Skratch piece followed weeks of scrutiny over Mickelson’s exit from The Farms, near San Diego. Golf Digest reported on 11 June that a female club employee had accused the 56-year-old of non-consensual and inappropriate physical contact before a round earlier in the spring. According to that account, the employee rejected his advances and reported the incident to supervisors, and club officials confronted Mickelson during his round and told him to leave before he had finished it.

The Farms said it had supported the employee, carried out an independent investigation and taken action, though its statement did not name Mickelson. His representative later confirmed he had resigned from the club.

Mickelson’s lawyer, Tom Clare, told Golf Digest that objective video evidence conflicted with the reporting. The publication said its investigation found that the location of the alleged incident had no cameras, and that The Farms confirmed no footage showed a direct interaction between Mickelson and the employee. No video was supplied by Mickelson’s legal team.

Clare later said Mickelson had retained defamation counsel. “There is a great deal of misinformation circulating and, while Phil’s full attention is devoted to a private family health matter, he has retained defamation counsel and is determined to hold accountable any publication or individual trafficking in speculation or false rumors,” he said.

The Ashley Perez allegation

Perez told Shipnuck the alleged 2015 incident took place during the Barclays tournament, when she and Pat Perez were staying at a Liberty National Golf Club villa arranged by Mickelson. She said Mickelson showed her the photograph while Pat was away from the room and asked her to visit his bedroom after her husband had fallen asleep. She said Mickelson subsequently apologised to Pat, and later to both of them in a phone call.

In an interview quoted by CBS Sports, Perez said she went public to encourage others. “There is a culture of silence that keeps women from coming forward. I want to give other women the courage to share their truth,” she said. Her attorney, Daniel Watkins, said Perez had consistently told the truth and accused Mickelson of avoiding responsibility.

The other clubs named by Skratch

According to Skratch, Mickelson left The Madison Club in 2021 after roughly a decade of membership, during which he owned a condominium in the clubhouse and used the facility to prepare for PGA Tour seasons. A member of the club’s management team told the publication that Mickelson may have left after a request involving his family and wealth-management representatives.

At The Bridges, near Mickelson’s home in Rancho Santa Fe, Skratch reported that his honorary membership was eventually transferred to fellow San Diego golfer Xander Schauffele. General manager Jim Miller declined to discuss Mickelson or any member.

Mickelson’s camp also criticised Skratch’s reliance on anonymous sources and questioned whether the publication had sufficiently disclosed its history as a media brand owned by the PGA Tour, later folded into Pro Shop in 2024 with the Tour retaining a minority stake. Mickelson left the Tour in 2022 as one of LIV Golf’s highest-profile signings. “Credibility is not earned by publishing the most provocative narrative,” the statement said. “It is earned through transparency, verification, and a clear distinction between fact, inference, and speculation.”

Skratch editor-in-chief Ben Boskovich told the Post that Mickelson, his wife and his lawyer were given the chance to respond three days before publication, and that the Tour relationship has been public knowledge since 2024. “Skratch Golf stands by its reporting,” he said.

Mickelson has played only one LIV event in 2026, finishing tied for 48th in South Africa in March. He has missed the rest of the schedule, along with the Masters and PGA Championship, to prioritise what his representatives describe as a family health matter, which Golf Digest reported is separate from the incident at The Farms.