Mickelson Fined By Callaway
I was reading some golf forums yesterday and came across a piece of news that I hadn’t read anywhere. And I’m constantly looking for golf news on a daily basis. As it turns out, Callaway Golf docked Mickelson’s $10 million contract because he chose to skip the last nine PGA Tour events of the season. And according to some sources, he’s been warned in the past about this by Callaway and they felt they had no other choice than to fine him this year.
Now, I seriously doubt that the “fine” will put a dent in his fortune and is probably just an irritance more than anything else. However, the fact that this news didn’t get a lot of press (or any) means that the Mickelson marketing camp made sure that the media (his partners) kept it under wraps as long as possible, so as not to hurt his boy-next-door image.
I wonder what Phil’s justification was for thumbing his nose at Callaway (again) knowing that he’d probably get fined. He signed a binding contract with Callaway to represent them by playing their equipment and there’s a direction connection between his appearances and their revenue stream. This a prime example that the amount of money these guys are making is causing them to make decisions they probably otherwise wouldn’t make.