Rick Reilly dishes on getting drunk with Phil Mickelson and other golf tales

Rick Reilly says he’s been gathering string. What that means, he explains, is he’s been picking up little stories here and there for several decades, gathering material from the beginning of his epic sportswriting career. He joined Sports Illustrated in 1985. He wrote his first golf book (Missing Links) in 1996. He’s written five more since then including his latest, So Help Me Golf. And in honor of that latest book’s release, he joined this week’s Drop Zone podcast.

He doesn’t hold back in the interview; he dishes on why he loves golf, why a Ryder Cup in Italy could be a misfire, how an American soldier played a daily round of golf from his wartime prison cell, why he doesn’t care for Tiger Woods, his favorite Phil Mickelson story and more.

You can find the episode of the Drop Zone on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Quote of the week

Rick Reilly on hanging out with Phil Mickelson: “He got me drunk out of the claret jug one day and I couldn’t drive home. He insists you drink out of that claret jug. And you drink claret! I asked [Mickelson’s wife] Amy how much the bottle was; she said $3000. Oh, and he’s got a T-Rex skull in his living room. I think there’s only nine in the world, or something? With Phil, who knows.”

Looking for more Drop Zone content? Find it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.