Will Phil Get Fined For Barclays Fan Wager?

Stooge that I am, I kept refreshing the PGA Tour YouTube page to see the fun moment on Saturday where Phil Mickelson lost a $5 bet (at 4-1 odds) with a gallery member and lost. Then promptly paid up his $20.

And then Ryan Ballengee reminded me why this video won't appear...Phil may get fined for a little harmless fun!

The penalty for breaking rules under Section VI of the PGA Tour handbook include “fine, suspension from play in PGA Tour cosponsored and coordinated tournaments, [or] permanent disbarment from such play.”

Mickelson has violated this rule in the past. At the 2001 NEC Invitational, Mickelson and Mike Weir were among players watching the final action unfold at Firestone C.C. With Jim Furyk bunkered in a playoff and needing to hole it to extend, Mickelson bet Weir $20 at 25-to-1 odds that Furyk would make the shot. Furyk did, and Mickelson was to collect $500.

At the time, PGA Tour official Bob Combs said it was a “technical violation” of the player regulations, but it didn’t have an outcome on the tournament.

And because of the tour's stance on not discussing fines or disciplinary action, we'll never know what happened. But if YouTube is any indication, the tour will crack down on this fun!