Top Golf Newsmakers of 2022: 'Phil' Author Alan Shipnuck

No. 13 on SI Golf's list of top 20 newsmakers is the journalist whose interview with Phil Mickelson, and subsequent book, set the sport ablaze.

Author:
Jeff Ritter
Publish date:
Dec 19, 2022

Who He Is: Golf Writer, Author

SI Golf Rank: 11 (Gabby Herzig), 4 (Alex Miceli), 20 (John Schwarb)

Why He's Here: On Feb. 17, veteran golf writer and author Alan Shipnuck, writing for the Fire Pit Collective, published a portion of his interview with Phil Mickelson, which took place in November 2021 as part of a Mickelson biography Shipnuck was finalizing. Mickelson spoke unfiltered about why he was planning to jump to LIV Golf and, whoa boy, did those quotes start a storm. A sample, for those who need a refresher:

“We know they killed (Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the PGA Tour operates.

“They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics but we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want (the new league) to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the (PGA) Tour.”

Shortly after Shipnuck’s web story dropped, Mickelson announced a leave of absence from pro golf and essentially went into hiding, skipping the Masters, where he’d enjoy various ceremonial trappings as a former champion, and the PGA Championship, where he would’ve returned as the defending champion after one of the most stunning triumphs of his career. On May 17, the Tuesday of PGA Championship week, Shipnuck’s book, “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar,” hit bookshelves.

“I think the book caught fire the way it did because this year golf was defined by subterfuge, spin, misdirection and other forms of bulls---tery,” said Shipnuck, who wrote for Sports Illustrated for more than two decades. “But the most honest things anyone said were from Phil’s interview with me about Saudi Arabia and the Tour.”

Mickelson finally resurfaced for LIV Golf’s debut event in London. While on site covering the tournament, Shipnuck was escorted out of Mickelson’s first press conference.

A photograph of a bewildered Shipnuck, with LIV Golf commish Greg Norman glaring at him in the background, was one of the most Twitter-viral moments of the summer.

Mickelson was criticized for an apparent lack of sincerity in his first LIV presser. It was, to say the least, a surreal day in golf media.

“The Norman tweet going viral was the inverse of [my book interview]: it was hilarious and ridiculous because of how empty [Mickelson’s] words were,” Shipnuck said. “I’m not going to pretend the golf beat is Watergate but if my reporting stood out this year, it’s because fans just want the unvarnished truth about a messy, evolving story and I tried to deliver that.”

2023 Outlook: Shipnuck will work the golf beat for Fire Pit Collective. Mickelson will work the golf course for LIV Golf. Interviews and press conferences will be given. LIV Golf and the PGA Tour will continue to clash. There will be more bulls---tery. SI Golf will follow all of it.