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With 45 PGA Tour event wins under his belt, Phil Mickelson is largely regarded as one of the world's best professional golfers. And while his career has been widely covered, there is one element of the veteran golfer's life that has been largely kept out of the spotlight: his longtime marriage to wife Amy Mickelson.
Phil and Amy first met in 1992 while students at Arizona State University, and they tied the knot a few years later on Nov. 16, 1996. For their 22nd wedding anniversary in 2018, Phil dedicated a sweet Instagram photo and caption to Amy: "I am so appreciative to have Amy as my partner in life. Her grace, charm, kindness, laugh, smile, and brilliance have made me the luckiest man in the world. Thank you, my love, for sharing our lives together."
Together, the Mickelsons share three children and have been through their share of hardships, including Amy's cancer diagnosis in 2009, which Phil described as the most "emotional" period of his life.
From her background as a professional cheerleader to her relationship with Phil Mickelson, here's everything to know about Amy Mickelson.
She is a former NBA cheerleader
Formerly known as Amy McBride, the golfer's future wife was a member of the Phoenix Suns cheerleading squad while attending Arizona State University.
She didn't know about golf before meeting Phil
Phil had already won his first PGA Tour event as an amateur in 1991, but his future wife admittedly knew nothing about golf when she first met him in 1992.
"I grew up in a tennis family, and when he told me he was a pro golfer, I thought he worked in the shop at a golf course," Amy wrote in Phil's 2007 book, One Magical Sunday: (But Winning Isn't Everything).
She is a mother of three
Together, Amy shares three children with her husband. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Amanda Brynn Mickelson on June 21, 1999, the day after Phil came in second at the 1999 U.S. Open to Payne Stewart. Their second daughter, Sophia Isabel Mickelson, was born on Oct. 23, 2001, followed by son Evan Samuel Mickelson on March 23, 2003.
Almost a year after Evan's birth, Phil opened up to the Associated Press in January 2004 about his wife's "dangerous" third delivery.
''He didn't breathe for seven minutes, and had the emergency nurses not been there with the equipment ready, he might have had some severe brain damage or other circumstances," the golfer said of his son.
In addition to Evan's initial struggles, Phil revealed that the birth was life-threatening to Amy as well: ''We were two or three minutes away from losing her."
Luckily, a radiologist was able to perform an emergency procedure to "stop a six-inch tear in a major artery."
She co-founded a nonprofit with Phil
In 2004, the couple founded the nonprofit Birdies for the Brave in partnership with the PGA Tour. The charity honors and shows appreciation to service members in the United States Armed Forces and their families.
The Mickelsons' military outreach initiative was originally founded to raise funds for combat-wounded veterans. According to the Tournament Players Club, the organization has grown over the years to raise funds for additional military homefront charities that "provide direct services for military members, veterans, and their families ranging from financial aid and rehabilitation programs to housing, counseling and educational scholarships and career development and recruitment."
In a PGA Tour video, Amy said that when the United States first went to war, she and Phil felt "that initial tug that everyone was feeling" of wanting to help in some way. "It's sort of a helpless feeling like 'I want to do something, but I don't know what.' We certainly wanted to do our share to recognize and help our military families," she said.
The same year Birdies for the Brave was founded, the couple launched the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation — a privately-funded organization that focuses on supporting youth and family initiatives.
She is a breast cancer survivor
On May 20, 2009, the couple announced via a statement from Phil's management firm that Amy had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37, and that she would undergo treatment and a "major surgery" in the coming weeks.
Phil suspended his playing schedule indefinitely, but announced on May 31 that he would be playing on the PGA Tour the following month after hearing from doctors that Amy's cancer had been caught early and would be treatable.
"Obviously we're going through a tough time right now," Mickelson said at his first tournament back. "We're fortunate we believe we caught it early enough to where we don't have to rush into decisions and we can make some good long-term decisions, decisions that will hopefully prevent this from reoccurring, as well as decisions that will hopefully beat this quickly. We're getting ready to get started."
Less than seven weeks after Amy's diagnosis, Phil's mother, Mary Mickelson, was also diagnosed with breast cancer. That following September, Phil won his first tournament since learning of the diagnoses at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
"I'm very proud of my wife and my mom on the fight that they've been through, and we've been fortunate in the long-term," Mickelson told reporters after the win. "Although day-to-day is tough, and the meds are tough, and it's not easy for them, we're fortunate that our long-term outlook looks good. … To finish this year off with a win feels terrific."
She's supportive of her husband
Phil took some time out of the public eye in early 2022 following the backlash he received for his controversial comments about joining LIV Golf, a Saudi Arabia-backed golf league. Amy stayed by her husband's side through it, even as he was suspended from the PGA Tour and pulled out of the Masters Tournament for the first time in 25 years.
The golfer spoke with Sports Illustrated about the time off and said it allowed him to "reflect" on things, including his gambling addiction, which had gotten "reckless and embarrassing" at a certain point.
"The fact is I've been dealing with it for some time. Amy has been very supportive of it and with me and the process," Phil shared. "We're at [a] place after many years where I feel comfortable with where that is. It isn't a threat to me or my financial security. It was just a number of poor decisions.''
The golfer also told the publication that skipping the Masters Tournament granted him time to focus on his marriage.
"It's given me a chance to spend time with Amy and create a better balance in my life, so it's not so focused on just golf," he said.
In September 2023, Phil shared a post on Instagram in which he opened up about his gambling addiction and how Amy has supported him in his recovery.
In the post, he shared that his wife has “loved me and supported me through my darkest and most difficult times,” noting that he “couldn’t have gotten through this without her.”
“I’m so grateful for her strength in helping us get through the many challenges I’ve created for us,” he wrote. “Because of her love, support and commitment, I’m back on track to being the person I want to be.”
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