Phil Mickelson has been all over the news in professional golf, both for his play on the course and his business dealings off it. Mickelson reminded fans that his game is still very much present as he made a late surge on Sunday at the Masters to nearly capture a win, and the recent possibilities of a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have thrust Phil into the spotlight of international business dealings.
Behind the scenes, the Lefty has also been busy. According to a report from the New York Post, Phil has slowly been buying up all of the property in his San Diego neighborhood over the course of the last twenty years.
His first home was purchased for $6 million in Rancho Santa Fe, and since then Phil has continued to gobble up properties. As he continued to purchase the surrounding properties to the house in which he now lives, some landowners were reluctant to give up their homes. So, Lefty offered more money than they could reasonably turn down.
According to the Post’s sources, Phil paid $25 million for a 4.3-acre four-bedroom house adjacent to his home. That whopping sum was simply too much for the previous owners to turn down, so they packed their things and headed on their way. Phil then did the same for an empty lot of land on the other side, allegedly shelling out another $25 million to grab up nearly 7 acres of land.
The community in which these plots reside is one that is highly coveted by the wealthier residents in the area, with one of the listings stating, “The desirable Rancho Santa Covenant has so much to offer; world class Golf and Tennis Clubs, top rated schools, charming village with shopping and dining, walking/riding trails, high speed internet (fiber) and is just minutes to world class golden beaches, and all major freeways and shopping centers.”
In other news, Mickelson was in hot water after coming after the PGA Tour’s golden boy Rory McIlroy in a Tweet on June 2. After a poor showing from the Irishman, Phil said, “As worn out as Mclroy was after the Masters and his need for an off season, LIV would be perfect for him. Problem is I don’t think there’s a team that wants him on it because they’d have to deal with all his bs.”
Phil’s insistence on battling on behalf of the reputation of Saudi-owned LIV Golf has polarized himself among the fanbase of professional golf. While some say that it is merely a business decision to join the LIV organization, others believe that it bastardizes the integrity of the game to move to a no-cut model of tournaments.
Whatever the case, Phil has certainly been scheming behind the scenes to grab a massive parcel of land in a highly coveted area. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this down the road as Lefty moves toward retirement over the next decade.
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