Alan Shipnuck

Shipnuck, Alan. Phil: The Rip-Roaring (And Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar. Avid Reader Press, 2022.
Sports biographies are easy to lose in the marketing shuffle, but a good news hook will often get them the immediate notoriety they need to get them to the bestseller table at the front of the bookstore. Veteran sportswriter Alan Shipnuck must be checking his pockets for four-leaf clovers over the lucky news hook he has for his biography of Phil Mickelson. At 52, Mickelson must be nearing the end of his competitive career. Most golfers his age would be happy to ride off into the sunset of the Champions Tour, but Mickelson, who reportedly has large gambling debts, has gone to war with the PGA by agreeing to play on the new Saudi-backed Liv Tour. Despite the sensationalism of its subtitle, Shipnuck’s biography does not reveal shocking new facts about Mickelson’s life and career. He documents some of Mickelson’s charitable acts and devotion to his family more thoroughly than he does his gambling history or political views. Much of the book consists of detailed match descriptions laced with plenty of metaphors and action verbs. He “smoked a hard fade” or “settled over the ball holding lumber.” The most character-revealing stories come from the off-camera mind games Mickelson plays with other golfers, getting under the skin of Tiger Woods by pasting a picture of a hundred-dollar bill on the door of Woods’ locker to remind him of the money he lost in a practice match with Phil. A timely read. 4 stars.… (plus d'informations)