- Phil Mickelson gave a press conference the night before he tees off at Torrey Pines.
- The Local was quick to criticise Ryan Ruffels before he makes his debut at The Farmer’s Insurance Open.
FIGJAM’s love for gambling is a well established part of the golfing scene, so when a story emerged that he’d lost a bet to Aussie teenager Ryan Ruffels, the golf world pressed their ear to the wall and listened.
Several accounts have come and gone and nobody really knows what happened. If Phil’s brother was involved it could be awkward because recruiting a young talent with money is a big no no.
“Wasserman Media Group issued a statement over concerns that it might have involved NCAA recruiting violations by saying Ruffels never had any intentions going to college and that the “friendly wager” and barrage of birdies was “a bit overdone and becoming a media fish story.” This comment from the New York Times tells us that Phil’s PR cleanup is just as creative as his short game.
Phil wasn’t done there though, on the eve of the teenager’s PGA TOUR debut he dished out some hard hitting life lessons. “He’s young, and he’s got some things to learn.”
Ruffels had posted on Golf Channel’s Instagram account to say the story was “very inaccurate,” and that “the wager amount has also been exaggerated out of proportion,” but this retraction was too little too late as far as lefty was concerned.
“He’s young, and he’s got some things to learn. One of them is you don’t discuss certain things. You don’t discuss specifics of what you play for. And you certainly don’t embellish and create a false amount just for your own benefit.” “So those things right there are … that’s high school stuff,” Mickelson said.
.@RRuffels ‘The end of the equation is good golf and the rest will come’ pic.twitter.com/BVkZ8oeUFW
— Golf Victoria (@Golf_Vic) January 14, 2016
The Australian made the decision to turn professional and will be playing at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on a sponsor’s invite.
Preparation all done and dusted at Torrey Pines for this week. Now the fun starts! Thanks to everyone for the support! @FarmersInsOpen
— Ryan Ruffels (@RRuffels) January 28, 2016
