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April 11, 2010 | 8:04 pm

Why Phil Mickelson doesn’t golf with Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Kiddush Golf Cup Tournament

Not to pick on Lefty, who won the Masters today. I just as easily could have put Fred Couples or my man Rocco Mediate or, gulp, Tiger Woods in the headline. This is not a post about anti-Semitic golfers. It’s about the lack of Semitic golfers.

The Great Rabbino explains:

It is one thing to not have any good players, but we barely have any players. None in the masters. None ranked.

We do have a few players who were born Jewish or have a Jewish parent. Corey Pavin was born Jewish but has publicly converted to Christianity and preaches Christ. Jim Oppenheim has a Jewish father but doesn’t consider himself Jewish at all. Jonathon Kaye is Jewish but isn’t really a factor in the golfing world. Also, Skip Kendall is supposedly Jewish, but I have no confirmation on that. So the PGA tour seems to be without a real J-E-W.

What do we have going for us in the Jewish golfing world?

The Great Rabbino’s answer is Tom Watson, who isn’t a Jew but is married to one.

The dearth is true. In the past three years, during which I have made many efforts to blog about Jewish athletes big and small (and biggest), I’ve never heard of a Jew on the PGA tour. The question is what gives?

Jews no longer are confined to inner-city sports like basketball and, to a lesser extent, baseball. In fact, the growth of the Jewish middle- and upper-middle class can be blamed from much of the Jewish decline on the hardwood. With so many Jews paying exorbitant country club dues, you’d expect to see a little better representation.

13 Comments — Leave your comment

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Skip Kendall is Jewish, but I don’t know if he still practices.

Comment by Gail on 4/11/10 at 10:28 pm

Is it just me or is Phil Mickelson slowly turning into Gary Busey?

Comment by T on 4/11/10 at 10:44 pm

Well, I don’t think you’re turning into Gary Busey.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 4/11/10 at 10:46 pm

Brad, I didn’t get your title of this blog.
Please explain why Mickleson won’t golf with jews….

Comment by Morgenstein on 4/12/10 at 10:09 pm

It’s not that he won’t but that he doesn’t because, as I said, there are no Jews on the Tour.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 4/12/10 at 10:47 pm

Amy Alcott and Morgan Pressel both LPGA golfers are both members of our tribe.

Comment by mike Squires on 8/19/10 at 8:15 pm

The title of your piece really isn’t fair to Phil Mickelson.  Also, the implication that the PGA discriminates against Jews is malicious if not slanderous.  My son is a (Jewish) amateur golfer.  No one knows or cares.  Ditto for the Koreans, Mexicans, Indians, and Japanese. 

I do have one qualm however, which is that the PGA should sanction players who participate in the Dubai Desert Classic.  Israeli players (and I would assume Jewish ones as well, if there were any) are not allowed to participate.  Shame on Tiger Woods and the other big names who collect an annual paycheck in Dubai.

Comment by adam on 9/03/10 at 12:42 am

Lets start a Jewish school to grow jewish golfers to a professional level. who wants to?

Comment by mike Squires on 9/03/10 at 3:47 pm

You forgot Morris Haltasky. 

Obnoxious and over bearing people regardless of their background (blacks, Jews etc..) are generally not invited to play with less assuming folks…  That have American Christian morals…  Most people really wish you would all go back to where you came from and take the rest with you…  I don’t think you get it.

Comment by Dan Jones on 2/11/11 at 10:48 pm

Hey Dan Jones ,
Your argument was persuasive.  I ‘m going back to where I came from in about an hour. Thanks for straightening me out.

Comment by mike Squires on 2/12/11 at 5:50 am

Golf is a game requiring talent therefore Jews are 2% of our population and are 2% of the players on the PGA tour.  This is quite normal and Jews are not underrepresented at all on the PGA tour.

Comment by Ron Bradley on 7/31/11 at 2:53 pm

Isn’t Spencer Levin Jewish. He played at U New Mexico and has been in one playoff and in the top twenty a number of times in the past year.

Comment by David Hirsch on 1/29/12 at 2:25 pm

Don’t forget Guy Boros, son of Julius Boros, currently on the Nationwide Tour but a former PGA Tour player.

Comment by Chuck K on 2/05/12 at 2:00 pm

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