Overview

"NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ""A rollicking good time."" --Golfweek * ""Thoroughly engaging."" --The Washington Post Now with a new afterword: a juicy and freewheeling biography of legendary golf champion Phil Mickelson--who has led a big, controversial life--as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling author Alan Shipnuck. Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship. In this raw, uncensored, and unauthorized biography, Alan Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats, and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multifaceted character, and all his warring impulses are on display in these pages: He is a smart-ass who built an empire on being the consummate professional; a loving husband dogged by salacious rumors; a high-stakes gambler who knows the house always wins but can't tear himself away. Mickelson's career and public image have been defined by the contrast with his lifelong rival, Tiger Woods. Where Woods is robotic and reticent, Mickelson is affable and extroverted, an incorrigible showman whom many fans love and some abhor because of the overwhelming size of his personality. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger's laser focus and discipline, leading Tida Woods to call her son's rival ""the fat boy,"" among other put-downs. Yet as Tiger's career has been curtailed by scandal, addiction, and a broken body, Phil sails on, still relevant on the golf course and in the marketplace. Phil is the perfect marriage of subject and author. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson's massive gambling losses; to the inside story of the acrimonious breakup between Phil and his longtime caddie, Jim ""Bones"" Mackay; to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed to wield as leverage against the PGA Tour. But Phil also celebrates Mickelson's random acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, to which friends and strangers alike can attest. Shipnuck has covered Mickelson for his entire career and has been on the ground at Mickelson's most memorable triumphs and crack-ups, allowing him to take you inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years--full of heart, humor, and unexpected turns."

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9781476797090

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Advance praise for Phil For years, in all the better press tents, there's been a debate: Is there a writer BIG enough to capture Phil? Turns out, there is. Alan on Phil! Shipnuck's latest win is no ordinary event. It's a major. --Michael Bamberger, New York Times bestselling author of Men in Green and The Second Life of Tiger Woods Praise for The Swinger Hilarious . . . A sensational novel of life on Tour. --Golf Magazine A devilishly fun summer read for sports fans, celeb-gawkers, or anyone that just likes a good story . . . If you had any interest at all in the Woods saga as it played out, you're nearly guaranteed to love this novel. --Daniel Roberts, Fortune A funny, fast-moving book . . . Dead on . . . The authors know their man and know their game. --Janet Maslin, The New York Times Alan Shipnuck has spent his whole career writing about and thinking about Phil, and that palpable fascination for his subject has fueled a superb biography. Anecdotes fly off the page, made rollicking and weighty by engaged and perceptive sources. Mickelson's golfing genius, charisma, and foibles are tracked with a high-wire blend of irreverence and dispassion. For all of that, it's Shipnuck's unflinching pursuit of Phil's complexity that will most endure. --Jaime Diaz, Golf Channel commentator and #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor (with Hank Haney) of The Big Miss An entertaining, revealing, thought-provoking, and cautionary tale...It's easy to catch yourself wondering: Is this what really happened? No one may ever know exactly what happened to Woods, and the book is fiction--keep repeating that with each turned page--but it provides invaluable insight into the life and times of Woods. --Bill Pennington, The New York Times I devoured every win, wager, and ounce of Mickelson mischief in this unflinching portrayal of golf's most complicated character. Hero? Gentleman? Jerk? Shipnuck's masterful reporting is packed with inside information (the legal sort) that lets the reader decide. Thumbs up, indeed. --Tom Coyne, New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called America and A Course Called Ireland Will leave you howling . . . Surprisingly poignant . . . Bamberger and Shipnuck's knowledge of the game gives the book a reality rarely seen in golf fiction outside of Dan Jenkins. --Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union

Praise for Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck's The Swinger: Hilarious . . . A sensational novel of life on Tour. --Golf Magazine A funny, fast-moving book . . . Dead on . . . The authors know their man and know their game. --Janet Maslin, The New York Times A devilishly fun summer read for sports fans, celeb-gawkers, or anyone that just likes a good story . . . If you had any interest at all in the Woods saga as it played out, you're nearly guaranteed to love this novel. --Daniel Roberts, Fortune An entertaining, revealing, thought-provoking, and cautionary tale . . . It's easy to catch yourself wondering: Is this what really happened? No one may ever know exactly what happened to Woods, and the book is fiction -- keep repeating that with each turned page -- but it provides invaluable insight into the life and times of Woods. . . . The Swinger is a golf book, but it is a 21st-century sociology lesson, too. --Bill Pennington, The New York Times Will leave you howling . . . Surprisingly poignant . . . Bamberger and Shipnuck's knowledge of the game gives the book a reality rarely seen in golf fiction outside of Dan Jenkins. --Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union In their roman a clef about Tiger Woods, Shipnuck and Bamberger thinly disguise as fiction plenty of gossip they've heard over their four decades, combined, covering the PGA Tour. . . . What's more relevant to the story, and to the reader--including, possibly, Tiger Woods himself--is the way Tree approaches his post-scandal life. The authors' idealized version of Woods comes totally clean about his past mistakes. There are no staged interviews, no clipped or dodgy answers. Tree Tremont lets his guard down, even cracks a few jokes about the absurdity of his situation. He starts enjoying the company of his fellow players and--gasp--the fans. Tree wins that Masters, his game even gets better, and yes, fans fall for him all over again. . . .When reading The Swinger, you can't help but wonder: what if Tiger were more like Tree? --Time magazine

Author Information

Alan Shipnuck is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller Phil and the national bestsellers Bud, Sweat & Tees and The Swinger (with Michael Bamberger). Shipnuck has received thirteen first-place awards from the Golf Writers Association of America, breaking the record of Dan Jenkins, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. After a quarter-century at Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine, Shipnuck is now a partner and executive editor at the golf media company the Fire Pit Collective, where all his writing, podcasts, and video storytelling can be found. Shipnuck lives in Carmel, California.

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