Professional golfer and San Diego native Phil Mickelson is passing on an investment in the San Diego Padres, saying he doesn’t have the time to make a serious commitment to the new ownership group.
Mickelson was included as potentially being part of the new Padres owners when the sale of the team from John Moores was announced, a group led by Ron Fowler and members of the O’Malley family. About six week ago Mickelson says he informed the group he was passing on an investment, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“I think to be involved with the Padres you have to be fully committed to the long term,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been born and raised here, but at this moment I’m not able to make that kind of long-term commitment to the city and to the team.”
No word on whether the Fowler group will seek another investor or two or three to fill the Mickelson spot. Then again, this isn’t a total surprise: Mickelson wasn’t present at the August unveiling of the new owners, and we noted his absence then. Since then he’s spoken of looking forward to owning a chunk of the team, but he certainly kept his distance.
RELATED STORIES: New owners formally take control of the Padres; Owners approve sale of Padres to Fowler/O’Malley group; Will Padres sale affect San Diego development?; O’Malley group reaches agreement to buy Padres; Mickelson joins potential Padres ownership group; Three groups approved to negotiate purchase of Padres; O’Malleys may make run at Padres; Moores puts San Diego Padres back on the market
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