PGA Tour star Phil Mickelson has been facing a wave of backlash regarding recent controversial comments he made about the Saudi Super Golf League to Alan Shipnuck during an interview ahead of a biography the author is writing. After Shipnuck leaked a highly-controversial excerpt of his book, Mickelson has since attempted to clear the air, suggesting that the author used his quotes out of context and that his words were meant to remain off the record. The author caught wind of Mickelson's comment and took to social media to share his side of things. In a Q&A via the Fire Pit Collective, Shipnuck answered a question about the nature of the excerpt.

When asked about his conversation with Mickelson, Shipnuck had a lot to say, including vehemently denying that their talk was held off the record.

“He sent me a text on the morning the excerpt dropped. He was less than thrilled. Just as in the statement he released on Tuesday afternoon, Mickelson made a half-hearted attempt at revisionist history, trying to say ours had been a private conversation, but I shut that down real quick. He knew I was working on a book about him and asked to speak, saying he wanted to discuss media rights and his grievances with the [PGA] Tour, both of which inevitably lead back to Saudi Arabia. If the subject of a biography phones the author, the content of that conversation is always going to inform the book, unless it is expressly agreed otherwise. Not once in our texts or when we got on the phone did Mickelson request to go off-the-record and I never consented to it; if he had asked, I would have pushed back hard, as this was obviously material I wanted for the book.  Mickelson simply called me up and opened a vein. To claim now that the comments were off-the-record is false and duplicitous.”

Shipnuck maintains his stance that his conversation with the PGA veteran was not off the record, insisting that he would have pushed back had Mickelson requested that. Shipnuck claims Mickelson knew he was writing the biography and wanted to get his own word in, suggesting that it wouldn't make sense for their conversations to be off the record with the golfer knowing he was being interviewed for a biography.

After Shipnuck's excerpt was released, Mickelson's comments on Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Super Golf League went viral, with the 59-year-old facing a ton of backlash from fans, media members, and fellow PGA Tour members alike. Despite Lefty's claims that his conversation was meant to be off the record, Shipnuck was quick to insist that is a fabrication.