Another rough day, Phil?
Well down the leaderboard in this weekend’s Memorial Tournament, Hall of Fame golfer Phil Mickelson responded Saturday to reports that he’s being investigated for possible insider stock trading by claiming that he hasn’t done anything subpar.
“I have done absolutely nothing wrong. That’s why I’m fully cooperating with the FBI agents and will continue to do so,” Mickelson said in a statement issued as he hit the links in Dublin, Ohio, for the third round.
“I wish I could fully discuss this matter,” Mickelson said. “For right now, I’m not really able to do so. I don’t want to say anything more than that.”
Mickelson finished even on the third day of action, but slid down the tournament standings to a tie in 47th place. His overall score is two below par.
Federal investigators are probing a possible insider-trading scheme in Clorox stock involving Mickelson, pro gambler Billy Walters and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
The feds are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters illegally traded on nonpublic information from Icahn about his attempted $10.2 billion takeover of Clorox in July 2011.
Icahn’s bid caused Clorox’s price to skyrocket amid a rash of suspicious trading, say sources with knowledge of the probe.
None of the three men has been formally accused of wrongdoing. Icahn says he has never given out any inside information during his 53-year Wall Street career. He says he knows Walters but has never met Mickelson.
Walters told The Wall Street Journal he had no comment.
Mickelson sometimes hits the links with Walters, a legendary sports bettor who buys and sells golf courses and is a big player in Las Vegas real estate.
In 2011, Walters told “60 Minutes” that he once won $1 million betting on a round of golf — and lost it all later in the day playing blackjack at a downtown Las Vegas casino.
In that same interview, Walters said he had run into many more thieves on Wall Street than in casinos.
“So you would say that the hustler from Vegas got hustled by Wall Street?” interviewer Lara Logan asked.
“No doubt about it,” Walters answered.