Why read a biography of Phil Mickelson? I have read a lot of golf books over the years, but maybe no golf biographies. I was drawn to this one because Phil is interesting–partly because of his outspokenness, partly his flamboyance and gutsiness, and, of course, partly because he is the highest-profile player to sign with LIV Golf. And after reading this book, I came to the conclusion that Phil’s decision to sign with LIV was primarily about money.
Most golf fans already know a lot about Phil Mickelson. Many, many victories, six of which are majors; risk-taking player; never won the U.S. Open; values his wife Amy and family. Alan Shipnuck’s biography Phil is fun to read, mainly through reliving Phil’s extraordinary golf accomplishments. His win at the U.S. Amateur; his first PGA Tour victory while a junior at ASU; his first Masters win in 2004, where he went five under on the last seven and canned the putt on 18, jumping up with fists and putter raised; his duel with Henrik Stenson in 2016 at Troon; his many second place U.S. Open finishes; his incredible history with the Ryder Cup (including the 2014 press conference in which he blasted captain Tom Watson and which probably led to many positive changes for the U.S. Ryder Cup team); and his amazing 2021 PGA Championship victory at 50. (I highly recommend looking up some of the older telecasts online, particularly the Pinehurst U.S. Open (Payne Stewart putt) and the Winged Foot U.S. Open (“I’m such an idiot.”).) There are also some junior, high school, and college golf stories that most probably don’t know, including his concession of a 40-foot putt at the U.S. Amateur.
Beyond the golf facts, though, this book gives you some insight into the inner workings of Phil’s mind. As Shipnuck describes Phil, he always has to be the smartest person in the room; he is never shy about expressing an opinion; he can be very calculating in choosing when and to which reporters he speaks; and he loves to gamble, at golf, on sports games, seemingly anything.
Do we learn more about Phil’s decision to join LIV from this book? Not much more than was originally reported by Shipnuck. Shipnuck tried to interview Phil for the book for a couple of years. Phil refused every time, then out of the blue, Phil contacted Shipnuck to talk. Shipnuck insists the conversation in which Phil described the Saudis as “scary motherfuckers” as being on the record, and I have no reason to doubt Shipnuck, especially after he describes all the factors weighing in favor of it being on the record. As to why he joined LIV, Phil says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape the PGA Tour. He is hung up on players having control over the video and images of the shots that they played.
However, as a lover of golf’s history and golf’s great courses, Phil’s decision to join LIV can only be about money, right? Are any of the LIV players really feeling satisfied by beating a forty-person field or participating in the team events? I can’t imagine they are. I’m sure there are revenue streams that the big-name PGA Tour players might be able to use, but as a fan, I don’t care how much the players are making. I don’t begrudge anyone for trying to make more money, but what I am searching for in golf entertainment is golf greatness.
I want to watch the best golfers compete in tournaments that I care about. I want to watch players hit pressure shots at tournaments we know they desperately want to win. The tournaments that produce these emotions: the majors and the Players. Namely, I’ll tune in to any tournament on Thursday night or Saturday afternoon to see a few holes of coverage, but there aren’t many tournaments I’ll make sure to watch to the conclusion on Sunday except for the majors and the Players. I just don’t care that much about who wins most PGA Tour events, including my local Houston Open. It is fun to go out and watch Tour players play if they are in the area; and the lesser tournaments are important for this purpose–allowing Tour players to be seen in person. But most golf is watched on TV, and what we really want to see is greatness. Up to now, golf greatness is defined by winning majors. Cumulative wins of regular Tour events is very important, yes, but true golf greatness is defined by winning majors on historical courses by beating a full field. The full field aspect is key. When the winning score on the Korn Ferry Tour is routinely 15 to 20 under, we know there are hundreds of great, great golfers out there; any of these players or any journeyman PGA Tour pro can have a career week and win a tournament, even a major. The ability to outcompete all the current top players plus fend off lesser-known guys having a career week–that is, to withstand the pressure of a major and beat a full field–is golf greatness. And Phil has done this over and over. Nothing he can do on LIV will compare to what he has already accomplished in his PGA Tour career. The only way he moves up on golf’s all-time greats list is by winning more majors or several more Tour events. Therefore, his decision to join LIV must primarily be for the money (reportedly $200 or so million). Which is fine, I just wish Phil would say this directly. I’m not upset by any of this, however, because like most fans, I’m looking forward to the next really big event, which, for now, only includes five tournaments.
In assessing Phil’s golf greatness, one thing I think the book would have benefitted from is including some pictures and including some lists of stats relative to the other greats regarding overall wins, majors, etc. so that the reader can better assess Phil’s place in golf’s pantheon.
Another thing in Phil’s life that was mainly about money: his split with caddy Jim “Bones” Mackay. According to Shipnuck, Bones fired Phil because Bones hadn’t received nearly $1 million as a percentage of Phil’s FedEx bonus money. Phil apparently has now paid him, but this was why Bones left Phil and went on to do Golf Channel broadcasting and now to caddy for Justin Thomas.
I came away from the book feeling that Phil is complicated, like any real person is. He is a good person with a good family. And he seems to be a positive, fun person to be around. To me, he is a top 10 all-time golfer. He’s been fun to watch and follow. He’s nice to the fans. But he also has a side in which he has to be right; he’s got a big ego; and he frequently uses poor judgment when it comes to gambling.
Looking forward, I’m curious to see what happens with LIV and whether Phil ever reconciles with the PGA Tour. It’s hard to imagine the golf world staying mad at Phil over LIV. And I’ll also be watching to see how Phil performs in the four (no longer five for him) tournaments that really matter.