Alan Shipnuck – författare

The #1 International bestseller'A portrait of a man who, partly through design, partly through bloody-mindedness, always seemed destined for greatness’ Observer‘Shipnuck produces a rich, nuanced picture’ Wall Street JournalThe definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era.Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. In the same press conference, he can be golf’s most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll.McIlroy’s victory at the 2025 Masters Tournament packed such an emotional punch because he is golf’s most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having finally completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles.Known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat for over thirty years, Alan Shipnuck traces McIlroy’s evolution from a young Northern Irish phenom to a game-changing force. Rory brings to life the heartbreaks, triumphs, tabloid romance, business disputes, and divisive politicking to fully define one of golf’s all-time great players.‘Offers a deep dive into one of the PGA tour’s most passionate players’ Rolling StoneAlan Shipnuck, New York Times and Irish Times bestseller, April 2026

The #1 International bestseller'A portrait of a man who, partly through design, partly through bloody-mindedness, always seemed destined for greatness’ Observer‘Shipnuck produces a rich, nuanced picture’ Wall Street JournalThe definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era.Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. In the same press conference, he can be golf’s most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll.McIlroy’s victory at the 2025 Masters Tournament packed such an emotional punch because he is golf’s most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having finally completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles.Known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat for over thirty years, Alan Shipnuck traces McIlroy’s evolution from a young Northern Irish phenom to a game-changing force. Rory brings to life the heartbreaks, triumphs, tabloid romance, business disputes, and divisive politicking to fully define one of golf’s all-time great players.‘Offers a deep dive into one of the PGA tour’s most passionate players’ Rolling StoneAlan Shipnuck, New York Times and Irish Times bestseller, April 2026

An unprecedented look behind the scenes at one of the most intriguing controversies in golf history, when a fascinating clash of values, tactics, and political power comes to a head during a fight over Augusta National.The controversy began with a seemingly innocuous private letter, and spiraled into the biggest media event in golf history. The Augusta National membership dispute dominated headlines and watercooler conversation for nearly a year, propelled by twenty-first-century hot-button issues and a pair of perfectly drawn foils in Hootie Johnson and Martha Burk. But a year after Burk's messy Masters week protest, the meaning of the membership controversy remains elusive. Alan Shipnuck—who reinvented the PGA Tour narrative with the rollicking Bud, Sweat, & Tees—provides the definitive account of what really happened and why. Shipnuck chases the story from the chairman's office at Augusta National to the living room of the One Man Klan, along the way bringing to life a vivid cast of characters and revealing subplots aplenty. With meticulous reporting and penetrating insights, Shipnuck provides a nuanced look into the complex and contradictory worlds of Hootie and Martha, who were drawn together like moths to a flame; reveals Augusta National's secret plots to undermine the press and the accompanying turmoil at The New York Times, including an exclusive interview with the Times's disgraced executive editor, Howell Raines; and explores the Southern politics that led to Burk's Masters week banishment, drawing on Senate confirmation hearings and campaign contribution documents to link local politicians and a federal judge to Augusta National. From Tiger Woods to Jack Welch, Sandra Day O'Connor to Bryant Gumbel, Treasury Secretary Snow to Jesse Jackson, the gang's all here in this withering look at a story that never stopped churning.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times   * *   'Thoroughly engaging' Washington PostA frank and revealing 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 and unauthorised biog­raphy, Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multi-faceted 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 rumours; 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. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, 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 delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed. 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, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected turns.

WINNER OF THE FRANCIS CLARK FINANCIAL PLANNING INTERNATIONAL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE 'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times   * *   'Thoroughly engaging' Washington Post A frank and revealing 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 and unauthorised biog­raphy, Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multi-faceted 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 rumours; 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. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, 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 delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed. 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, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected turns.

WINNER OF THE FRANCIS CLARK FINANCIAL PLANNING INTERNATIONAL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE 'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times   * *   'Thoroughly engaging' Washington Post A frank and revealing 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 and unauthorised biog­raphy, Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multi-faceted 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 rumours; 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. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, 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 delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed. 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, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected turns.

WINNER OF THE FRANCIS CLARK FINANCIAL PLANNING INTERNATIONAL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times   * *   'Thoroughly engaging' Washington PostA frank and revealing 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 and unauthorised biog­raphy, Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multi-faceted 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 rumours; 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. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, 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 delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed. 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, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected turns.

'Shipnuck cuts to the intrigue of an acrimonious story that still twists and turns with snake-like flexibility' –​ The Times'A terrific read' – Sports IllustratedAlan Shipnuck, the New York Times bestselling author of Phil, returns with a major new work of insider reporting on the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League.Over the past two years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck is our most trusted correspondent. Following closely on the heels of his New York Times bestselling sensation, Phil, Shipnuck turns to LIV Golf’s controversial – and belligerent – storming of the professional golf world.In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers the inside story in real time, with fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has travelled seamlessly between both tours – having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives – to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who has a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck – because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too.The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. It also provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand the armistice between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023.Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered another hotly anticipated book packed with juicy nuggets and in-the-room-where-it-happened action... think Bob Woodward moonlighting on the sports desk. LIV and Let Die is the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.

Alan Shipnuck, the New York Times bestselling author of Phil, returns with a major new work of insider reporting on the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League.   Over the past two years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck is our most trusted correspondent. Following closely on the heels of his New York Times bestselling sensation, Phil, Shipnuck turns to LIV Golf’s controversial – and belligerent – storming of the professional golf world. In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers the inside story in real time, with fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has travelled seamlessly between both tours – having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives – to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who has a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck – because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too.The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. It also provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand the armistice between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023. Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered another hotly anticipated book packed with juicy nuggets and in-the-room-where-it-happened action... think Bob Woodward moonlighting on the sports desk. LIV and Let Die is the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.

'Shipnuck cuts to the intrigue of an acrimonious story that still twists and turns with snake-like flexibility' –​ The Times'A terrific read' – Sports IllustratedAlan Shipnuck, the New York Times bestselling author of Phil, returns with a major new work of insider reporting on the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League.  Over the past two years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck is our most trusted correspondent. Following closely on the heels of his New York Times bestselling sensation, Phil, Shipnuck turns to LIV Golf’s controversial – and belligerent – storming of the professional golf world.In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers the inside story in real time, with fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has travelled seamlessly between both tours – having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives – to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who has a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck – because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too.The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. It also provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand the armistice between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023.Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered another hotly anticipated book packed with juicy nuggets and in-the-room-where-it-happened action... think Bob Woodward moonlighting on the sports desk. LIV and Let Die is the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.

'Terrific' Sports Illustrated 'Compelling' CNN ‘Sensational’ Geoff ShackelfordAlan Shipnuck, the New York Times bestselling author of Phil, returns with a major new work of insider reporting on the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League.   Over the past two years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck is our most trusted correspondent. Following closely on the heels of his New York Times bestselling sensation, Phil, Shipnuck turns to LIV Golf’s controversial – and belligerent – storming of the professional golf world. In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers the inside story in real time, with fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has travelled seamlessly between both tours – having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives – to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who has a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck – because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too.The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. It also provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand the armistice between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023. Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered another hotly anticipated book packed with juicy nuggets and in-the-room-where-it-happened action... think Bob Woodward moonlighting on the sports desk. LIV and Let Die is the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.

The #1 International bestseller'A portrait of a man who, partly through design, partly through bloody-mindedness, always seemed destined for greatness ObserverShipnuck produces a rich, nuanced picture Wall Street JournalThe definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era.Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. In the same press conference, he can be golfs most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll.McIlroys victory at the 2025 Masters Tournament packed such an emotional punch because he is golfs most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having finally completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles.Known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat for over thirty years, Alan Shipnuck traces McIlroys evolution from a young Northern Irish phenom to a game-changing force. Rory brings to life the heartbreaks, triumphs, tabloid romance, business disputes, and divisive politicking to fully define one of golfs all-time great players.Offers a deep dive into one of the PGA tours most passionate players Rolling StoneAlan Shipnuck, New York Times and Irish Times bestseller, April 2026

The New York Times bestsellerThe #1 Irish Times bestsellerThe definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era.Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. In the same press conference, he can be golf’s most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll.McIlroy’s victory at the 2025 Masters Tournament packed such an emotional punch because he is golf’s most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having finally completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles.Known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat for over thirty years, Alan Shipnuck traces McIlroy’s evolution from a young Northern Irish phenom to a game-changing force. Rory brings to life the heartbreaks, triumphs, tabloid romance, business disputes, and divisive politicking to fully define one of golf’s all-time great players.Alan Shipnuck, New York Times and Irish Times bestseller, April 2026

An unprecedented look behind the scenes at one of the most intriguing controversies in golf history, when a fascinating clash of values, tactics, and political power comes to a head during a fight over Augusta National.The controversy began with a seemingly innocuous private letter, and spiraled into the biggest media event in golf history. The Augusta National membership dispute dominated headlines and watercooler conversation for nearly a year, propelled by twenty-first-century hot-button issues and a pair of perfectly drawn foils in Hootie Johnson and Martha Burk. But a year after Burk''s messy Masters week protest, the meaning of the membership controversy remains elusive. Alan Shipnuck—who reinvented the PGA Tour narrative with the rollicking Bud, Sweat, & Tees—provides the definitive account of what really happened and why. Shipnuck chases the story from the chairman''s office at Augusta National to the living room of the One Man Klan, along the way bringing to life a vivid cast of characters and revealing subplots aplenty. With meticulous reporting and penetrating insights, Shipnuck provides a nuanced look into the complex and contradictory worlds of Hootie and Martha, who were drawn together like moths to a flame; reveals Augusta National''s secret plots to undermine the press and the accompanying turmoil at The New York Times, including an exclusive interview with the Times''s disgraced executive editor, Howell Raines; and explores the Southern politics that led to Burk''s Masters week banishment, drawing on Senate confirmation hearings and campaign contribution documents to link local politicians and a federal judge to Augusta National. From Tiger Woods to Jack Welch, Sandra Day O''Connor to Bryant Gumbel, Treasury Secretary Snow to Jesse Jackson, the gang''s all here in this withering look at a story that never stopped churning.

The incredible story of Rich Beem''s life on tour—including the raucous, rowdy side of life as a professional golfer—with his caddie, Steve Duplantis, at his side.Rich Beem became an overnight folk hero with his victory at the 2002 PGA Championship, where he dazzled fans with fearless shotmaking and glib one-liners. By the time Beem had stared down Tiger Woods in an epic back nine and then danced a goofy jig on the final green, the sports world was clamoring to know, “Who is this guy, anyway?” That question is answered in Bud, Sweat, & Tees, Alan Shipnuck''s no-holds-barred look at modern professional golf. Shipnuck began tracking Beem during his rookie year in 1999, when he was a logo-free rube only a couple of years removed from a seven-dollar-an-hour job hawking cell phones. Beem and his hard-living caddie, Steve Duplantis, would find sudden fame and fortune, and Shipnuck enjoyed unparalleled access in chronicling their wild ride—sharing endless drives across the desert and eventful nights at strip clubs, cutthroat golf matches and late-night confessionals at assorted watering holes. The result is an intimate portrait of two exceedingly colorful characters. Beem and Duplantis invite us deep into the world of the PGA Tour, exposing the rowdy, randy reality of the most interesting subculture in sports, which has always been a well-protected secret—until now. Sometimes bawdy, often hilarious, and always unpredictable, Bud, Sweat, & Tees stands as the finest insider sports book since Ball Four.

A sports hero seeks a comeback in this wildly funny and ultimately redemptive novel.His name, as we all know, is Herbert X. “Tree” Tremont, and he’s the richest and most celebrated athlete of our time—a multicultural golfing icon with fifty-three Tour wins, thirteen major victories, a smoking hot wife, and two adorable kids. But when a reporter uncovers evidence that Tree’s sexual appetites are as prodigious as his tee shots, his public and private lives collide, producing the juiciest scandal in sports history. In this wickedly funny novel that takes readers between the ropes and the sheets of the PGA Tour as never before, the only thing more entertaining than Tree’s downfall is his quest for redemption.

Christina Kim is the brashest, bawdiest, funniest player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. Golf fans know her for her colorful wardrobe, even more colorful on-course antics, and an explosive game. But in this rollicking account of the 2009 season, Kim invites readers deep into her life, providing an intimate diary of a young woman''s struggles on and off the golf course, and revealing the glory and heartbreak of life on the tour. Once known as a prodigy who shot a 62 in her first LPGA event some six years ago, Kim has newly rededicated herself to realizing her potential, and she takes readers between the ropes for all the action, including her nail-biting near misses at two major championships. She also goes inside the team room at the Solheim Cup, revealing the hijinks and late-night gab sessions that bonded the victorious U.S. team. Along the way we get intimate portraits of her close friends on tour, including tour leaders such as Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, and Natalie Gulbis. In this courageous telling, no topic is out-of-bounds, as Kim dishes about the LPGA''s sexual mores, the culture clash of an American-based tour increasingly dominated by Koreans, the tumultuous economic forces squeezing the players, and her own battles with body image and her traditional upbringing. Winsome and good-natured, but never afraid of a laugh line or choice profanity, Christina Kim provides a must-read for anyone who loves golf or has wondered about the inner self of a professional athlete.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The definitive biography of the most important, popular, and confounding golfer of the post-Tiger era, masterfully chronicled by Alan Shipnuck, the bestselling author of Phil and LIV and Let Die. ';Shipnuck produces a rich, nuanced picture.' The Wall Street JournalRory McIlroy contains multitudes. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. McIlroy is golf 's most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll, sometimes in the same press conference. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. A dozen years ago, McIlroy asked Alan Shipnuck a question about the player he had modeled himself after, Tiger Woods: ';What's he really like?' As McIlroy enters the last act of his highly eventful career, this book is a chance to redirect that old question and try to understand a man of deep complexity and contradictions. McIlroy's victory at the 2025 Masters packed such an emotional punch because he is golf's most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having at last completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles. But there is much that the public does not know about McIlroy. With reporting chops honed across thirty years on the golf beat, Shipnuck traces McIlroy's evolution from a young phenom in Northern Ireland to a game-changing force on and off the golf course. Shipnuck has shadowed McIlroy throughout his career, and he brings to life all the heartbreaks and triumphs with thrilling immediacy and unparalleled access. Tabloid romance, bitter business disputes, divisive politickingit is all part of this portrait of a man in full. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he goes deep into McIlroy's personal history at a time when the spotlight on Rory has never been brighter. This book is squarely in the tradition of extraordinary golf biographies like Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian's Tiger Woods and Shipnuck's own Phil.

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.

“A terrific history…gossipy as hell…the writing is classic Shipnuck…he will never bore you.” —Golf Digest The New York Times bestselling author of Phil and “master of both the art and science of sports journalism” (Sports Illustrated), delves into the heart of the golf industry controversy—the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League—in “his best book yet” (Golfweek).In recent years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck has been our most trusted correspondent on the front lines. Now, Shipnuck turns to the conflict that made Phil Mickelson, and many other top golfers, villainous in the eyes of the public: LIV Golf’s disruptive—and belligerent—storming of the professional golf world. (LIV’s unofficial motto, immortalized on hats gifted at a staff party: “Fuck ’Em All.”) In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has traveled seamlessly between both tours—having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives—to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who had a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck—because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too. The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. Shipnuck’s unparalleled access and award-winning reporting chops provide rich portraits of the brand names at the center of this sprawling tableau: Greg Norman, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Jay Monahan, His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Dustin (and Paulina!) Johnson, Pat (and Ashley!) Perez, Patrick (and Justine!) Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Jimmy Dunne, and many more. Bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf has upended the men’s professional game with vast riches—blatant “sportswashing,” from the mouth of Mickelson himself. The bitter feuding (and trolling) between the PGA loyalists and the LIV camp made the battle between the tours deeply personal—but for the top leaders of the two tours it was strictly business, and in a series of secret meetings they reshaped the future of the sport. LIV and Let Die provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand what happened between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023. Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.