Did Charles Barkley throw shade at Tiger Woods?

In an upcoming book titled “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar,” author Alan Shipnuck quotes Barkley, who explained the “huge difference” between Phil Mickelson and Woods, the latter of whom he used to be close friends with.

In a book excerpt published on the Fire Pit Collective website, Shipnuck writes that Barkley said, “One of the reasons Phil has lasted so long is because he’s had a joyful life. Tiger won a bunch of tournaments, but there wasn’t much joy in it.”

Barkley added, “Sure, Tiger is a better golfer. You’re just in awe of his talent. But it’s not fun to be around him. Everyone in his world is uptight and sh-t, afraid to say or do the wrong thing.

“Tiger himself has always acted like he’s under siege. Gimme a f–kin’ break — you’re just a golfer, dude. When you’re with Phil, you’re guaranteed to have fun. He makes people feel good. Everyone around him is always smiling. That’s a huge difference, man.”

The status of Barkley’s friendship with Woods is unclear. But back in 2017, the Basketball Hall of Famer revealed that he hadn’t heard from Woods since before the golf icon crashed his Cadillac Escalade, around the time of Woods’ infidelity scandal in Nov. 2009.

“To this day, I don’t have any idea what happened,” Barkley said. “After that … thing, he just stopped talking to us. That’s all I know.

“I could understand if he was trying to get back with his wife at the time and she said, ‘Hey, get rid of all your old friends,’ and he called and said, ‘This is the situation.’ I would’ve understood that. But I just wish he would have been man enough to call and say that. To just disappear totally was disappointing.”

Elsewhere in the book, which delves into Mickelson’s past gambling issues in the 2010s, the golfer’s biographer says Mickelson suffered a staggering $40 million gambling loss between 2010 and 2014.