Editor’s Note: Like some of you, I voraciously consume the written word, especially on golf, other sports, politics, and history. Every so often, I’ll post a reading list here with selections that I’ve particularly enjoyed and want to pass on to you.
From The Fire Pit Collective’s Michael Bamberger: Trumped – From the events of Jan. 6 to Phil Mickelson’s WD, the 2022 PGA has been defined by controversy. The major protagonists have one thing in common: the Saudis – https://firepitcollective.com/trumped/
Bamberger, one of golf’s best scribes, weaves a tremendous narrative linking disgraced former President Donald Trump’s ambitions to host a major at his Bedminster goat ranch were destroyed by the January 6 insurrection and Phil Mickelson’s dance with Saudi blood money to force change on the PGA Tour resulted in his absence at Southern Hills this week.
From Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard: Nearly 41 years later, mob hit at Southern Hills still draws morbid curiosity – https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pgachanmpionship2022-southern-hills-mob-hit-whitey-bulger-roger-wheeler
Of all the things that have happened at Southern Hills, including four PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens, two U.S. Amateurs, a U.S. Women’s Amateur, and a U.S. Junior Am, the 1981 murder of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler in a hit allegedly ordered by notorious Boston crime figure Whitey Bulger remains memorable for obvious reasons, and is revisited every time a major comes to Tulsa.
From ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg: Rickie Fowler is trying to find pieces of the past while staring at an uncertain future – https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/33929363/pga-championship-2022-rickie-fowler-trying-find-pieces-while-staring-uncertain-future
If you had told me back in 2012 that a decade later, Rickie Fowler wouldn’t have yet won a major, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are, and Rickie has gone from being the young face of the PGA Tour to a guy who wasn’t in the Masters and won’t be in the U.S. Open or the Open Championship without some good play in the next few weeks. Does the key to unlock the future of his career lie in what’s already behind him?
From ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Van Valkenburg: ‘It’s a pretty big fall’: How everything changed for Phil Mickelson in just one year – https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/33916213/pretty-big-fall-how-everything-changed-phil-mickelson-just-one-year
Two of ESPN’s best on the golf beat take a look at how 2021 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson’s star has dimmed over the past year from comments related to the Saudis, gambling, and more.
From Mark Cannizzaro at the New York Post: Westchester pro Alex Beach wants PGA Championship chance to be launching pad – https://nypost.com/2022/05/18/pga-championship-alex-beach-ready-to-seize-opportunity/
One of the few newspaper golf writers left in the New York Metro area with a piece on Westchester Country Club’s Alex Beach, who was the guest on Episode 3 of The Golf Leif podcast.
The Golf Leif 