Convicted Inside-Trader Billy Walters Is Not Pleased With Phil Mickelson

As he sits in a Florida minimum-security prison, sports gambler and businessman Billy Walters awaits an appeals court ruling and stews about the role Phil Mickelson played in his conviction, reports ESPN.com's Mike Fish.

Over several interviews recounted in a compelling piece by Fish, Walters is mostly still unhappy with his former golf buddy Mickelson.

"Here is a guy that all he had to do was come forward and tell the truth," Walters said in October, as he leaned forward in a chair behind his nearly 10-foot-wide office desk, its marble top home to three computer monitors. "That was all he had to do. The guy wouldn't do that because he was concerned about his image. He was concerned about his endorsements.

"My God, in the meantime a man's life is on the line. He's going to go to prison. And you got prosecutors up there during the entire trial, the entire month -- all they talked about over and over was me giving my friends insider information. That is all they talked about. And they knew those jurors were all up on the internet reading that stuff about Phil [profiting from the Dean Foods stock purchase]."

Video: Dan Patrick Talks Technology With Phil Mickelson

Good chat between Dan Patrick and Phil Mickelson on the distance debate.

Alternate Shot: Will Mickelson Get 50 Wins?

Jaime Diaz and I discuss whether Phil Mickelson will win fifty tour events following his 43rd title at the WGC Mexico City.  Jaime says no, I saw Phil has a chance to go the Sam Snead route and compete into his fifties thanks to his flexibility, power, confidence and apparent enjoyment playing the game. Plus, he's a better putter and has a private jet.

Phil! WGC Mexico City Ratings Up 21%

A stacked leaderboard, dreadful weather in most parts of the U.S. and the Phil Mickelson factor helped the 2018 WGC Mexico City climb 21% Sunday. 

VIEWERSHIP: Final RD coverage of the @WGCMexico on @NBCSports earned a 2.89 Overnight rating (2-630p ET), +21% vs 2017. Coverage peaked (4.51) from 6-6:30p ET during the playoff won by Phil Mickelson over Justin Thomas. pic.twitter.com/y11cN3gZj4

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) March 5, 2018

Roundup: Mickelson Finally Returns To The Winner Circle!

The already compelling Masters picture got more interesting with Phil Mickelson breaking a stubborn winless drought at the WGC Mexico City.

According to Doug Ferguson's game story, Phil Mickelson's win over Justin Thomas in sudden death means more to Phil than we'll ever know. 

Phil feels he has a little less work to do to make the Ryder Cup team, writes Rex Hoggard.

After win No. 43, the 47-year-old is still hoping to get to 50 PGA Tour wins, writes Brentley Romine.

Nick Menta with some of the key social and video highlights from a topsy-turvy final round.

The winner's bag, which included a new fairway wood at Mexico City.

For a roundup of all the week's action, check out the March 5 Golfweek digital edition.

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2018 World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship 8, players kept things exciting as Phil Mickelson marched to the top of the leaderboard for the win. The WGC - Mexico Championship returns to Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Mexico.

Thomas’s approach shot hole-out at 18: 

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2018 World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship 2018, Justin Thomas holes a 119-yard approach shot for eagle on the par-4 18th hole. The WGC - Mexico Championship returns to Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Mexico.

Who is Shubhankar Sharma? Phil Thought He Was Media!

The WGC Mexico City final round is the rare limited field event with a deep leaderboard and a wide range of final round storylines. While the list of top players two back of 21-year-old Shubhankar Sharma would be enough to keep things fun, many more lurk should the leader falter.

As for Sharma, Rex Hoggard writes that most of his peers know little about the two-time European Tour winner and current Race To Dubai leader, who holds a two-stroke lead.

Who is Shubhankar Sharma?

For those who will find themselves asking the question on Sunday, take heart that the soft-spoken player from India is obscure even among the game’s play-for-pay set.

“I don't know, other than he's young. He's like 21, right?" laughed 24-year-old Justin Thomas. "Man, kids,” 

Even those who may have crossed paths with Sharma on the European Tour, which he qualified for with his victory in December at the Joburg Open, had only a passing knowledge.

Sharma only introduced himself to one player this week: Phil Mickelson. And Lefty tried to shoo the non-scribbler away.  Hoggard writes in a GolfChannel.com item devoted to this gem:

Me and my caddie went up to [Mickelson]. He thought we were media and he said, ‘Not right now, after the round,’” Sharma laughed. “Then he just realized and said, ‘So sorry, I thought you were media.’ He said ‘hi.’ I said ‘hi.’ Then he made a few putts and he came back to me and said, ‘Have a good day.’ It was nice.”

Poor Phil, it's been so long since a media member even wanted to chat that he forgot what we look like!

Earlier in the week, AP's Doug Ferguson profiled Sharma and how he found the game through his families ties to Anirban Lahiri.

Sharma and Anirban Lahiri -- the player he replaced as India's No. 1 -- are both Army brats. Retired Col. Mohan Sharma was stationed at the same post as Lahiri's father, a gynecologist, when Sharma's younger sister was born.

Final round tee times and TV Times courtesy of Golfweek.

Round three highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Phil's 213th In Driving Accuracy, Up In Distance And Bullish On His Prospects In 2018

It's always fun when Phil Mickelson talks these days--an increasingly rare opportunity for the press--so enjoy Dave Shedloski's GolfDigest.com item on Lefty's improved distance but less-than-appealing driving accuracy numbers (213th). Because you know there's a theory behind it all!

But it’s a change you can’t see. No, he is still swashbuckling Phil. But perhaps the new iteration won’t have to be so gosh-darn entertaining. Which would make him eminently more competitive.

An offseason leg-strengthening program might soon pay dividends. Always enamored with the long ball, Mickelson is averaging 305 yards off the tee, 13 yards longer than his driving average in 2017. He ranks 39th on tour in that category. His clubhead speed, he said, has increased four miles per hour, and his ball speed is up significantly, too.

“My legs were always very passive in my swing, and now I’m able to get more of a whip effect and push off the ground,” he explained. “It’s increased the speed right away. From a biomechanical standpoint, I’ve always had plenty of upper body speed, including the hands, but I was weak using my legs for power.”

And why is this cause for encouragement?

“The two areas that I’ve been weak in over the last five years and have held me back are driving and short putts, and I believe they are both becoming strengths,” he said. “If that’s the case, then I’m going to have a good year. I believe what I’m doing is going to make a huge difference.”

Mickelson opened with a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

Video: Mickelson Says "Let's Take A Moment To Admire That I Just Hit A Fairway"

Fun stuff in the final round at Safeway Open, where Mickelson hit 15 of 56 fairways, though as he noted post-round as captured by PGATour.com's Mike McAllister, some are as narrow as 13 yards in spots.

Despite only hitting his 15th fairway of the entire tournament, Phil’s got jokes... 😂😂😂

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Oct 8, 2017 at 4:54pm PDT

Task For Bros: Tiger And Phil Show They're Friends, But Will They Hang Around When The Other Wins (Again)?

Of course not, but it's still nice to see these two rivals and Task Force partners sharing in the celebratory mood and no doubt thanking their bud Tom Watson for helping bring everyone closer together. Next thing you know they'll be hanging out by the 18th green the next time one of them wins a golf tournament.

This big hug followed Team USA's 2017 Presidents Cup win.

After play, the two insisted it's the media's fault for not seeing what friends they are, reports Will Gray for GolfChannel.com. Tiger:

“I think the press has made it out to be more than what it has been. We’ve been friends for a very long time,” Woods said. “We’ve had some tough moments where we’ve lost some cups, and also the flip side is we’ve had some great success. Hopefully, going forward, we can continue doing it.”

Video: Day & Mickelson On Dan Patrick, Things Get (Fun) Feisty!

There is some fun stuff in this 14 minute exchange, particularly between Phil Mickelson and Dan Patrick starting around the 3:30 mark. It's all in good fun!

Patrick also asks some good questions about match play and the Presidents Cup.

Mickelson, by the way, has resigned with Callaway for the rest of his competitive life.

Birkdale: Phil Going Driverless, For Now

From what I've seen of the course, I'm not surprised by this move reported on by GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard.

Mickelson arrived early on Tuesday to tinker with a modified 3-iron, a Callaway Epic model, that has been bent to 16 degrees, which is closer to a 2-iron loft.

He also had a 3-iron in the bag with standard loft as well as his normal 3-wood during his practice round with Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Things may change for many players should the winds get going and tomorrow's forecasted rain slow the course down, but even then it's just hard to imagine with the rough and lack of width that most of today's players need their driver at Royal Birkdale.

He spoke to Golf Channel:

Phil Just Wants To Talk About The Good Times With Bones

With his PGA Tour return at the Greenbrier Classic and last start before The Open, Phil Mickelson is understandably getting asked questions about his breakup with longtime bagman Jim "Bones" Mackay.

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com with the Facebook-like post spin about keeping focused on the good times. However Mickelson did suggest he is looking for something to ignire a still-sound game that has not been able to reach the winner's circle.

"I would say that after having not won for four years, knowing that my game is at a level that is good enough to win but not having done it, I think the one thing is an element of maybe being comfortable with my brother," he said. "Maybe he gets me a little more relaxed and takes a little pressure off me, and maybe I'll play my best that way. But there's no replacing Bones. He's phenomenal."

"Phil's Insider-Trading Escape"

In a special to GolfDigest.com, New Yorker staff writer and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin considers the Billy Walters insider trading case and concludes that Phil Mickelson escaped more serious prosecution thanks to a legal quirk.

It's a long piece but as with all Toobin stories, a good read.

The key conclusion:

But Mickelson's legal odyssey had a final twist. The Newman case, decided by the Second Circuit in December 2014, effectively prevented a criminal prosecution against Mickelson. But while the criminal prosecution of Walters was pending, the United States Supreme Court took up another case from California, which had limited insider-trading law in a nearly identical way that Newman had done in New York. In a unanimous decision in December 2016, the Supreme Court rejected the Newman rule and held that recipients of inside information could be prosecuted even if they didn't know what the original tipper received. In other words, Mickelson might have been prosecuted if his case had arisen before December 2014 or after December 2016. But because the Newman case was the law in New York when his case came up, Mickelson dodged trouble on either side—just as he did between those two trees at Augusta.

"Mickelson was from Mars, Mackay from Venus, and they ruled in their own universe."

As brother Tim Mickelson takes over looping for brother Phil (DiMeglio/USAToday), the San Diego Union-Tribune's Tod Leonard salutes the Jim "Bones" Mackay run of 25 years despite his shock at the news.

He writes:

This is Lucy divorcing Desi. In a pressure-cooker sport in which some caddies change partners as often as Taylor Swift rotates beaus, Phil and “Bones” working more than 550 tournaments together with not so much as a single public spat borders on being a miracle.

Let’s be real: The fact “Bones” didn’t strangle Phil on numerous occasions makes him something of a saint.

Rex Hoggard says it was fitting that one of the great player-caddie runs ended two weeks ago in Memphis where it all began.

“I do think every time I come back here, 25 years ago to the day basically on Monday, Tuesday, it was at Farmington Golf Course was the first day that Bones and I ever worked together. It was exactly 25 years ago this week,” Mickelson said on June 7. “Every time I come back here to Memphis I always think about that and that particular moment.”