{"id":516134,"date":"2026-04-06T16:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/516134\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:43:18","slug":"new-biography-explores-triumph-tensions-and-golfs-changing-landscape-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/516134\/","title":{"rendered":"New biography explores triumph, tensions and golf\u2019s changing landscape \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neither Rory McIlroy<\/a> nor his manager Sean O\u2019Flaherty were overly thrilled when Alan Shipnuck told them that he was writing McIlroy\u2019s biography. Phil Mickelson<\/a> hadn\u2019t come out too well from Shipnuck\u2019s 2022 book on his story, not least because of the revelations about the American\u2019s gambling habits and his comments on the Saudi-backed LIV. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Flaherty was, then, wary when Shipnuck broached the possibility of an interview with McIlroy for the book, but he became more enthusiastic when told it would be pitched on the player\u2019s \u201cburgeoning business empire\u201d. O\u2019Flaherty said he would put the idea to McIlroy. <\/p>\n

Some time after, Shipnuck was chatting to O\u2019Flaherty when they met at last year\u2019s US Open. \u201cHey, Alan,\u201d he heard someone call from nearby. \u201cI looked up and McIlroy was staring me down. His eyes were slits and his face twisted into a scowl. As soon as we made eye contact, he growled, \u2018f**k off\u2019. McIlroy took a couple of steps toward us and pointed his driver at me. \u2018Seriously, f**k off.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Shipnuck had, he says, \u201cexperienced the different sides of McIlroy\u201d, but this episode left him taken aback. He decided to approach McIlroy after the final round and ask why he was so bothered by the book. Two reasons. \u201cYou f**ked Phil … I\u2019m not going to make the same mistake.\u201d And, \u201cit p**ses me off that you\u2019re making money off my name\u201d.<\/p>\n

There ended any hope of an interview, but Shipnuck wasn\u2019t too concerned. Besides, \u201ccollaborative biographies skew toward the bland and sanitised\u201d. He continued with the project. His sole goal, he says, was \u201cto provide an unvarnished answer to an old question … what\u2019s Rory really like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that is my challenge as a biographer,\u201d says Shipnuck, the writer who has specialised in golf<\/a> since taking up an internship with Sports Illustrated 30 years ago. \u201cPeople know the broad strokes of Rory\u2019s life by now,\u201d he said when we spoke this week on the eve of the publication of \u2018Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf\u2019s Most Human Superstar\u2019. \u201cHe\u2019s been in the public eye for almost two decades. My job was to tell people things they don\u2019t know, to give a deeper understanding of this incredible journey.\u201d <\/p>\n

\" Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the fifth green during the first round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 19, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut. Photograph: Alex Goodlett\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cRory has this huge life on and off the golf course, and he\u2019s become a global icon. He has a business empire that few people even really know about. He dropped out of school when he was 15, now his closest confidants are JP McManus, Dermot Desmond and Jimmy Dunne, these titans of the business world. And he moves very easily in those circles. So it\u2019s been quite a remarkable journey, not just on the golf course, but through life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut his appeal is, I think, that deep down he\u2019s still this kid from the suburbs of Belfast who grew up in a working-class family. And he\u2019s retained that humility, that sense of wonder about how far he\u2019s travelled in his life. Deep down he\u2019s never really changed. And, and I think that\u2019s what makes him compelling to a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Rory McIlroy: \u2018Harry Diamond provides me a level of comfort on the golf course that no one else could\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Few, he says, have summed up McIlroy better than Paul McGinley when he said \u201cRory is very complicated, and in some ways he\u2019s very simple\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI totally agree with that – and that\u2019s part of what drew me to this project. Rory is becoming more interesting. He\u2019s becoming more polarising, and he\u2019s becoming more complex as he gets older. I would say five years ago he was a universally beloved figure, but he certainly stirs more passion in people now.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"MastersMasters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland speaks during the Green Jacket Ceremony at Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 13, 2025. Photograph: Shanna Lockwood\/Augusta National\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cThat dates from the arrival of LIV golf and him becoming this very outspoken critic. He became a kind of troll who made it personal with Greg Norman, with Sergio Garcia, with Brooks Koepka and others. A lot of people respected him for taking on this fight, but I think he lost some fans as well. But Rory was following his heart and his conscience. He\u2019s passionate. You see it on the golf course, you see it in the way he takes on these issues. So yeah, it\u2019s what makes him such a compelling figure for a biography because he\u2019s complex. There\u2019s a lot of layers there.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s honesty, thoughtfulness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, but, Shipnuck notes, there have been episodes of petulance and ruthlessness too. The manner in which he ended some relationships down the years, whether with the women in his life, business partners, caddies, and so on, doesn\u2019t paint him in the warmest of lights. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s been the odd bizarre moment too, which might leave jaws on the floor. JJ Spaun\u2019s hopes of beating McIlroy in a playoff in last year\u2019s Players Championship ended when he chose the wrong club and his ball landed in the water. When they crossed paths at the Masters the following month, McIlroy turned to the American and said: \u201cBetter get the club right this time.\u201d \u201cThat hurt,\u201d said Spaun after. \u201cThat hit me. Shane Lowry was like, \u2018f**kin\u2019 hell, Rory\u2019.\u201d He\u2019s definitely complicated. <\/p>\n

But it was at Augusta that Shipnuck witnessed a day he says will live forever in the memory, when McIlroy finally won the Masters. <\/p>\n

\u201cRory was playing – no hyperbole – probably the best golf of his entire life. But on Sunday, it had very little to do with swinging the golf club. It was such a metaphysical battle. It was just these angels and demons on his shoulder, and that\u2019s what made it so real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know he can hit every shot, that\u2019s never been in question. And he hit some of the greatest shots in tournament history that day. And also some of the worst. It was just such an internal battle, and that\u2019s what made it so thrilling. It was just quintessential Rory.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI was at every single major championship that Tiger Woods won, and it was thrilling to be a witness to history. But a lot of those Sundays were boring because you had the sense that Tiger would never, ever make a mistake and let anybody else win it. But with Rory? How many mistakes could he make? Was he gonna actually do it?\u201d <\/p>\n

\"TigerTiger Woods of Jupiter Links GC and Rory McIlroy of Boston Common Golf react on the sixth hole during a match at SoFi Center on March 01, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Photograph: Megan Briggs\/TGL Golf via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget how many people were moved to tears. And that was because it wasn\u2019t about golf. It was about those simple things, like overcoming your fears and never giving up. None of us can hit a golf ball like Rory, but we can certainly relate to that inner struggle, there\u2019s something you want so much but you\u2019re afraid to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s thrilling about tournament golf, there\u2019s absolutely nowhere to hide. You\u2019re all alone out there, it\u2019s like an x-ray of the soul. It was riveting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods, naturally enough, features heavily in the book, back to the days when McIlroy was in awe of him and had a poster of him on his bedroom wall, to when the pair became equals – and friends. That friendship has been tested along the way, not least by Woods being among a group of players in 2024 who reportedly blackballed McIlroy\u2019s return to the PGA Tour board. But in yet another hour of need for Woods, will he reach out to McIlroy?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so, but I think Rory could reach out to Tiger and make a difference in his life. And I hope he does because Tiger clearly needs that mentorship. They\u2019re definitely not as close as they have been, but I think Rory might be the only person on the planet who could go knock on Tiger\u2019s door and tell him some hard truths – because they are equals, they are peers. And Tiger has a lot of respect for Rory, not just as a golfer, but by the way he has lived his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly think if you could give Tiger truth serum and ask him if he would trade his life for Rory\u2019s, he would do it in a heartbeat. Tiger might have more trophies, but Rory\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s happy and he\u2019s universally respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RoryRory McIlroy and Shane Lowry of Ireland celebrate on the 18th green after winning the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana on April 28, 2024 in Avondale, Louisiana. Photograph: Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Another significant relationship McIlroy has developed along the way has been with Lowry. \u201cAnd Shane is very important in Rory\u2019s life. There\u2019s been complexity in their relationship as well [due to McIlroy\u2019s legal battle with Horizon Sports] but now, they\u2019re in a great place. I don\u2019t think Rory has any other close friends out on tour. He has a lot of acquaintances, every player respects and appreciates him, but I never see him practising with or having dinner with anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShane is a world class player and he understands some of Rory\u2019s struggles, but at the same time he\u2019s known his whole life that Rory\u2019s just better than he is. And so there\u2019s no rivalry in that sense. Shane knows that Rory is Rory. He\u2019s okay with that. And so it\u2019s just a perfect dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy is, Shipnuck believes, \u201cmore content\u201d now than he has ever been. He had, he says, \u201can existential crisis\u201d after he won the Masters, really only getting his love back for the game when he won the Irish Open at the K Club last year. He had spoken after Augusta about having climbed his Everest, but needing a new mountain to climb. But when there is no higher mountain, was he left thinking \u2018what now?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\"RoryRory McIlory at the Irish Amateur Open Championship in 2005. Photograph: Inpho\/Tom Honan <\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, but that is probably understandable after you achieve a lifelong dream that was so drenched in emotion. Like any child prodigy, he has had these weight of expectations his whole life. They can crush you or they can inspire you, I think Rory\u2019s felt both along the way. But I think winning the Masters redeemed him as a golfer and completed his journey. Then winning the Ryder Cup was a sort of public redemption for him as a man and as a husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had an incredible embrace with Erica at the end of the Ryder Cup, after what had been a difficult year for both of them. The way he spoke about her in the press conference after was the most emotion he\u2019s ever shown towards her publicly. The way everything worked out, it turned into the best year of his life on and off the golf course. So I think he\u2019s in a great place in every way. And it\u2019s nice to see that contentment because there was a restlessness about Rory for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will he read the book, do you think? \u201cWell, that\u2019s funny,\u201d says Shipnuck.<\/p>\n

It was a late Sunday night in California last February. Shipnuck was leaving the press room after writing up his report on the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and heading for his car. <\/p>\n

\"Rory:Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf\u2019s Most Human Superstar Hardcover by Alan Shipnuck. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now dark, it\u2019s misty, the whole place is completely cleared out. I see two figures walking towards me in the darkness and I know instantly that one of them is Rory, just by the way he moves. Sure enough, it was him and his caddy, Harry Diamond, they were going to the lodge to get a meal. They were joking with me, \u2018of all the people we had to meet on a dark rainy night, it had to be you\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Rory said, \u2018I read the first chapter of the book\u2019. He said it made me laugh, it was good. And you know, that chapter has some spicy material in it. I texted with his manager Sean O\u2019Flaherty later, and he said Rory was still reading it. I didn\u2019t write the book for Rory, I wrote it for golf fans, but it\u2019s nice that he has good feelings about it. I\u2019m pleased, I\u2019ll say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2666 Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf\u2019s Most Human Superstar Hardcover by Alan Shipnuck, is published by Simon and Schuster and released on Tuesday, April 7th<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Malachy Clerkin: Rory McIlroy is special because of his vulnerabilities as much as his victoriesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neither Rory McIlroy nor his manager Sean O\u2019Flaherty were overly thrilled when Alan Shipnuck told them that he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,6960,2623,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-516134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-phil-mickelson","10":"tag-rory-mcilroy","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}