The prolonged absence of Phil Mickelson from the forefront of golf during 2026 now has a new chapter. The six-time major winner recently checked himself into a specialised facility for treatment for what one of his representatives has described as “family trauma and addiction”.
The information was reported this Wednesday by TMZ Sports and later picked up by various US media outlets. According to the player’s circle, Mickelson has already completed his stay and left the facility. “Phil was seeking treatment for family trauma and addiction”, a representative of the golfer told TMZ.
No further details about the treatment have been offered nor has the type of addiction that led the American to enter the facility been specified. A relevant nuance given that Mickelson has indeed spoken openly in the past about his gambling problems.
In September 2023, Lefty publicly acknowledged that his relationship with gambling had long ceased to be just a pastime. “I crossed the line from moderation into addiction”, wrote then Mickelson, who also explained that he had been receiving professional help for years. The American admitted that the main harm had not been financial but personal and familial: his obsession with gambling prevented him from being truly present with the people he loved.
The news adds context to a virtually blank 2026 for one of the great figures of recent decades in golf. Mickelson announced on 1 February that he would not take part in the start of the LIV Golf season because he and his wife, Amy, needed to remain in United States to attend to a “family health matter”. He initially announced his absence only for the Riyadh and Adelaide events, although he ultimately also missed the tournaments in Hong Kong and Singapore.
His only competitive appearance of the year came in March, at LIV Golf South Africa, where he finished tied for 48th. But it was a fleeting return. In April he withdrew from the Masters at Augusta and announced that he would stay away from competition for an extended period while his family dealt with what he again described as a “personal family health matter”. In May he also did not play the PGA Championship, a tournament he won in 2005 and 2021, and his absence went on for the rest of the season. Mickelson therefore did not play any of the four majors of 2026.
Accusations that emerged during his absence
His temporary withdrawal from golf also coincided with the publication during the summer of several reports about alleged inappropriate behaviour by the American. Golf Digest published in June that Mickelson had ceased to be a member of The Farms Golf Club, near San Diego, after an employee reported alleged “non-consensual and inappropriate” physical contact before a round played that spring.
The club confirmed that it had investigated a complaint of conduct by one of its members and that that person was no longer part of the organisation, while later a spokesperson for Mickelson confirmed that the golfer had tendered his resignation. His circle maintained that any “misunderstanding” had been cleared up.
Weeks later, journalist Alan Shipnuck published in Skratch an extensive investigation, based on interviews with 19 people, which included other allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Mickelson towards women.
Among them was the testimony of Ashley Perez, the ex-wife of fellow golfer Pat Perez, about an alleged incident that occurred in 2015. Mickelson later denied the allegations and strongly attacked Shipnuck‘s reporting, which he described as a ‘drive-by shooting’, a phrase he used to label it a journalistic attack.
His representative then insisted that the golfer’s priority was elsewhere. “Mr Mickelson‘s priority is to become the husband, father and man that his family deserves”, his circle said in June. “Right now that means devoting all his attention to a private family health matter”, it added.
Three months later it is known that during this period away from the courses Mickelson has attended a treatment centre. At 56, the winner of 45 tournaments on the PGA Tour and six majors — three Masters, two PGA Championship and an Open Championship — therefore faces an unprecedented situation in his career. He has scarcely competed during all of 2026 and, for the moment, there is no announced date for his return to professional golf.
The only thing now confirmed by his circle is that the American sought professional help to address problems related to “family trauma and addiction” and that his stay at the facility has already concluded.
