Can Phil Mickelson win a Waffle House franchise?

Can a Masters champ run a Waffle house?

That’s what a bankruptcy court judge is going to decide.

AJC reporter Joe Guy Collier writes that golfer Phil Mickelson has joined a group that is bidding on SouthEast Waffles, the largest independent franchisee of Waffle House restaurants. Nashville-based SouthEast, which has 105 outlets in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky, filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago.

GS Acquisitions includes Mickelson as a principal, as well as Steve Loy, CEO of Gaylord Sports Management; and Terry Pefanis, former chief operating officer of Big Idea, best known for its VeggieTales series. It submitted a bid of $20.2 million bid, Collier writes.

There are two other bidders competing with Mickelson’s team:

– Waffle House, the Norcross-based franchisor of the chain. It bid $21.4 million.

– MNM Waffles submitted a $24.7 million bid.

The amount of the bid is only one factor, Scott Riddle, an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney, told Collier. The court and creditors will want to know if the bidders have sound financial backing and can successfully run the restaurants, Riddle said.

The three bids are scheduled to be reviewed next week by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. But it could take months to determine what happens with SouthEast Waffles, Collier writes.

I imagine the decision will be made before the next Masters in April.