Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar

Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar

by Alan Shipnuck
Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar

Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar

by Alan Shipnuck

Hardcover

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This is a riveting look into one of the most iconic golfers of our time, Phil Mickelson. From his rivalry with Tiger Woods to his addiction to gambling, Phil Mickelson has lived a colorful life that Alan Shipnuck perfectly captures in this memoir.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476797090
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 05/17/2022
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 235,735
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

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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