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.
The golf world is at war, and Alan Shipnuck is our most trusted correspondent on the front lines. Following closely on the heels of his bestselling sensation Phil, Shipnuck turns to the conflict that has made Mickelson, and many other top golfers, villainous in the eyes of the public: LIV Golf’s bid to usurp the PGA Tour.
In LIV and Let Die, Shipnuck delivers the inside story in real time, with fly-on-the-wall reporting from the decadent 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 has a stake in professional golf is lining up for an interview with Shipnuck—because they know everyone else is 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 provides rich portraits of the brand-name protagonists to this sprawling story: Tiger Woods, Donald Trump, Greg Norman, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Dustin Johnson, Jay Monahan, Rory McIlroy, Jack Nicklaus, His Excellency Yasir al-Rumayyan, Pat (and Ashley!) Perez, Brooks Koepka, Patrick (and Justine!) Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, and many more.
Bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV Golf has upended the men’s professional game with vast riches, but Human Rights Watch calls the Saudi endeavor “an effort to distract from its serious human rights abuses by taking over events that celebrate human achievement.” LIV Golf has become a moral and political question, and Shipnuck unpacks the many freighted issues with nuance and expertise. Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered another hotly anticipated book. It is the definitive account of the one biggest golf stories this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.
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