Law enforcement investigated allegations that Phil Mickelson was inappropriate with a woman at a Rancho Santa Fe golf club earlier this year, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office told The California Post on Thursday.
In a statement, an SDCSO spokeserson said authorities have “made attempts to locate any evidence to support the potential allegation of a sexual assault” involving Mickelson and a female employee at The Farms Golf Club.
However, the rep added they had not received any official reports of a sexual assault incident at the club and “at this time, we have not located any evidence to show an assault has occurred.”
“The Sheriff’s Office would absolutely investigate further if provided additional evidence or information,” the SDCSO spokesperson said. “We encourage anyone with information regarding an incident such as this to reach out to the Sheriff’s Office.”
Mickelson allegedly “made nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with the woman inside The Farms’ clubhouse in the spring, according to a bombshell report from Golf Digest on Thursday, and following a probe into the matter from the employee’s supervisors, the three-time Masters champion was booted from the club.
Mickelson, a San Diego native, had deep ties to the establishment — Golf Digest reported he’s played there often over the years and even used it to practice for major championships.
Mickelson has not commented on the alleged incident, though Tom Clare, a defamation attorney representing the golfer, said in a statement to Golf Digest there’s been “a great deal of misinformation circulating” around the situation.
“While Phil’s full attention is devoted to a private family health matter,” Clare said, “he has retained defamation counsel and is determined to hold accountable any publication or individual trafficking in speculation or false rumors.”
Mickelson, who’s been with his wife Amy for 30 years, has been away from the professional golf since February, when he announced he needed to step away to tend to a family matter.
