The Masters tournament at Augusta National is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf with a very strict set of rules on the course. However, Phil Mickelson admitted on Thursday that he broke a rule at the tournament in the past, and even had proof of doing so.
Mickelson took to social media to post a video that he captioned “Story time with Phil”. In this video, he revealed how he disobeyed the rules of the driving range prior to the 2005 Masters.
According to Mickelson, prior to the Masters tournament in 2005 the course had a sign in the ground that said that players could only practice on their short game at that particular driving range. He revealed how he went on to sneak back out to the range when nobody was looking and take the sign.
“There was a sign that said East practice range for short game only. So I can no longer hit my longer shots like I was doing. So after the champions’ dinner, I let all the champions leave first and I drive down Magnolia Lane. I park the car and kind of crawl over to the sign. I take the sign and wiggle it, and take it out, and throw it in the back of my SUV. So I show up the next morning and there is no sign there, and I can do my drill and do it all week long.”
It’s wild enough that he felt like he had to go to this length to practice his longer game on the range, but it turns out that he did so again the next year after officials replaced the sign that he stole. He then went on to steal the sign yet again the following year, only this time he got caught doing so.
“It never dawned on me that there would be cameras there,” Mickelson added. “There was video of me crawling under the trees and taking the sign.”
He then ended the video by showing the sign that he originally stole while sitting in his golf cart, which many fans were shocked that he still had.
Say what you will about Mickelson, but his success at Augusta National certainly shows that whatever practice drills he needed to do certainly worked for him. Mickelson holds three Masters Championships in 2004, 2006, and finally in 2010.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.