Charles Barkley is a massive golf fan and also famously bad at the sport.
He’s played golf for decades, dating back to his NBA days. Barkley became good friends with Tiger Woods during the 2000s and often plays in celebrity events alongside other NBA superstars, such as Stephen Curry.
Barkley is also good friends with Phil Mickelson, who he met while he was a player for the Phoenix Suns. But in typical Barkley fashion, the story of how the pair met was hilariously told by the 11-time All-Star.
How Charles Barkley met Phil Mickelson through a Phoenix Suns cheerleader
Barkley, when playing for the Phoenix Suns, was continually asked to play with one of the cheerleaders’ boyfriends. The cheerleader, called Amy, didn’t reveal that her boyfriend was in fact, Phil Mickelson.
Barkley told the story in 2020: “Amy says, ‘Hey, let’s get to know each other and hang out.’ Then she goes, ‘Would you play golf with my boyfriend one day?’ I’m like, ‘Sure,’ just blowing it off, just trying to deflect. I didn’t know it was Phil Mickelson.”
Barkley later found out that she was talking about the future six-time major winner when he discovered that her boyfriend was playing on the PGA Tour.
He continued, “I’m like, ‘Tour? I thought you said he was in college.’ She says, ‘Yeah, he gets some exemptions.’ I ask, “What’s your boyfriend’s name?” She says, ‘Phil Mickelson.’”
Barkley immediately cleared his schedule to play with Mickelson, as you would. And Amy is now Amy Mickelson, Phil’s wife, after the couple got married in 1996!
How Phil Mickelson fixed Charles Barkley’s golf swing
Barkley has long been known as an awful golfer, but he’s gotten considerably better in recent years. And that is in no small part thanks to Mickelson.
When playing together in The Match in 2020, Mickelson saw that Barkley was having some troubles with his swing, and acted as his coach throughout the match.
Recognizing that Barkley’s hitch was a mental block (essentially the “yips”), Mickelson tried to quieten Barkley’s mind by getting him to think about accelerating through the ball. That forced him to focus on the downswing rather than the backswing, which stopped him from pausing at the top of the swing.
He also intentionally told Barkley the wrong yardage, telling the NBA star that his short was 15-20 yards longer than it actually was. Knowing Barkley tended to decelerate out of fear, this long yardage forced him to swing aggressively, resulting in the ball landing on the green.
Mickelson emphasized the importance of course management skills, using irons off the tee and playing safe shots away from hazards. This allowed the duo to storm to a dominant 4&3 victory over Curry and Payton Manning.
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