If you are a fan of well-researched writing by a knowledgeable veteran golf writer and want to read about the years-long rivalry between two of the biggest names in pro golf of the last 20+ years—but prefer to wait for the less-expensive paperback copy of a new book to come out, you are in luck. Bob Harig, a long-time golf writer at ESPN, penned a comprehensive, deeply-researched book on the rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson that came out in 2022—and it is now (as of 16 April, 2023) out in softcover.
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| A comprehensive look at an enduring rivalry, now in paperback. |
The hardback edition of the book came out in 2022, after Woods’s solo-vehicle crash in February 2021 but before Phil Mickelson’s departure from the PGA Tour in favor of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, so it missed out on some of the most-current controversy in this rivalry. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed to not see an update chapter on the new developments in the softcover release.
Aside from that, Tiger & Phil is a very complete look at the sometimes fraught relationship between the two men who have most strongly defined PGA Tour golf in the 21st century—one a generally taciturn, frequently saturnine, presence on the golf course (and only when he couldn’t avoid it, in the media center interview room); the other a jovial, self-promoting—but sometimes sharp-tongued—raconteur who trailed in the shadow of the other. The book covers all aspects of the on-and off-course interactions between the two, from run-of-the-mill PGA Tour events to the majors, to special events like the Ryder Cup and the President’s Cup.
Curiously, I found the book to be rife with grammatical errors, clumsy sentence construction, and odd (sometimes incorrect) word choices. These are things that should have been caught in the editing process which may not bother, or even be noticed by, the casual reader, but as someone with editing experience I was tripping over them every couple of pages on average.
Minor writing blips aside, I am confident that anyone with an interest in the recent history of men’s professional golf will enjoy this book; it’s an important chronicle of the relationship and interactions of two of the most significant players in the closing years of the 20th century and the first quarter or so of the 21st.
