Michael Kim joins fans to question the authenticity of Mickelson’s latest 'criminal' Augusta story

Phil Mickelson's notorious character is known to everybody. Recently, he shared a story of the Masters tournament home, Augusta National. Although the 'criminal' story was loved by the fans a lot, there were a few who questioned its authenticity.

The six-time Major champion recalled two ranges, East and West, at the Augusta National Golf Club and how he practiced there before winning his first major in 2004. But, when he came back in 2005, he saw a signboard on which it was written "East practice range is for short games only."

Mickelson added that he could no longer hit longer shots. Thereafter, he explained what he did at the club, saying:

"After the Champions dinner, I let all the champions leave first. I go down that Magnolia lane where I parked the car and I kind of crawl under the magnolias [tree]. I take that sign and I wiggle, and I wiggle, and I wiggle and I lift and I take it out throw it into the back of my SUV, off I go."

Later on, the very next day, Phil Mickelson goes to the East range to do his towel drill. The San Diego-born golfer then recalls the very next year's Masters in 2006. He went to the same field and saw the same sign, repeated his previous year's actions and threw the board into his SUV car.

At the end of the video, Mickelson pulled out a similar sign board as he mentioned in his story. He jokingly said that he was not a betting man and claimed it to be a true story.

While fans were chuckling in the comment section of his Twitter post, American professional golfer Michael Kim questioned the authenticity of his story as he wrote:

"You'd think Augusta would let Phil Mickelson do his towel drill."

A fan asked Mickelson to post the video or he might believe that the aforementioned story never happened.

There was a fan who, at first, joked off calling Phil Mickelson a 'criminal'. Then, he recalled practicing at Grayhawk GC, where the golfer used to practice too. He added that the golfer was nicest to the kids and gave all of them autographs.

"Today we also learned Phil is a criminal. Jokes aside when I was a kid I’d practice at Grayhawk GC where Phil practiced. He was always the nicest guy to the kids and went out of his way to sign autographs or to make sure he’d give us a moment of his time. He made a fan for life," the fan wrote.

One of the fans asked Mickelson if he had to pay the replacement cost of the sign board.

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How many Masters tournaments did Phil Mickelson win in his career?

Despite just being short of a US Open win to complete his Career Grand Slam, Phil Mickelson is already a six-time Major champion. Interestingly, he has held the green jacket three times in his career so far.

His first Masters tournament victory came in 2004 when he entered the Sunday's play as tied for the lead and later went on to defeat Ernie Els by a one-stroke margin. In 2006, he defeated another South African professional golfer, Tim Clark, by two strokes to win his second title.

His third Masters victory came in 2010 when he overcame a one-stroke deficit in the fourth round to defeat Lee Westwood by a margin of three strokes.