Reviews
"This book is going to be controversial. There is no question about it. . . . It is the most unvarnished view of the tour--the biggest tour in the world--that I've ever read. And it's not close." --Gary Williams, Golf Channel "I think it's important to have books like this in the canon of golf, in the canon of sports." --Damon Hack, Golf Channel "With Eldrick Woods reduced to a sideshow, Shane Ryan's Slaying the Tiger offers bright, opinionated prose on the modern game. Ryan's fresh look is just what we golfer/readers want." --Curt Sampson, New York Times bestselling author of Hogan "Ryan does a fantastic job painting a thoughtful and accurate portrait of the new crop of heirs apparent. . . . With enthusiasm and irreverence, Ryan explores the various personalities of these newer faces in the game and probes into their backgrounds via a bevy of sources, from their parents to their college coaches, to paint intriguing and colorful and sometimes brutally honest portraits of the personalities that have taken over the PGA Tour." --Stephanie Wei, Wei Under Par "An important step away from cliché sportswriting that has saturated golf media for decades . . . Slaying the Tiger should be remembered not for what traditionalists have tried to label it but instead for what it is : a masterfully written account of an important time in golf history in a style that is synonymous to the book's core message." --Adam Fonseca, Golf Unfiltered "An exquisite study of a number of the PGA Tour's stars with an emphasis on the younger generation about to take over from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson." --Ryan Ballengee, Golf News Net "Absolutely marvelous . . . Ryan's writing flows and his reporting turns pages for you. From debunking the Victor Dubuisson myth to blowing up the social construction of Patrick Reed, the entire thing is tremendous. . . . Your only regret will be that there aren't 400 more pages to peruse." --Kyle Porter, CBS Sports " Slaying the Tiger is an unflinching look at these men, and the depth and honesty of the material is remarkable. . . . [Ryan] dug deep and got the kind of background information on the players he features that was absent from or barely hinted at in other outlets. . . . This book is certain to be as important to this era as [John] Feinstein's [ A Good Walk Spoiled ] was two decades ago. . . . A well-researched, in-depth look at the men who inhabit the highest levels of the game, at the end of one era and the advent of another, Slaying the Tiger is a must-read for PGA Tour fans from the casual to the most dedicated." -- Examiner.com, "This book is going to be controversial. There is no question about it. . . . It is the most unvarnished view of the tour--the biggest tour in the world--that I've ever read. And it's not close." --Gary Williams, Golf Channel " Slaying the Tiger is an unflinching look at these men, and the depth and honesty of the material is remarkable. . . . [Shane Ryan] dug deep and got the kind of background information on the players he features that was absent from or barely hinted at in other outlets. . . . This book is certain to be as important to this era as [John] Feinstein's [ A Good Walk Spoiled ] was two decades ago. . . . A well-researched, in-depth look at the men who inhabit the highest levels of the game, at the end of one era and the advent of another, Slaying the Tiger is a must-read for PGA Tour fans from the casual to the most dedicated." -- Examiner.com "An important step away from cliché sportswriting that has saturated golf media for decades . . . Slaying the Tiger should be remembered not for what traditionalists have tried to label it but instead for what it is : a masterfully written account of an important time in golf history in a style that is synonymous to the book's core message." --Adam Fonseca, Golf Unfiltered "Absolutely marvelous . . . Ryan's writing flows and his reporting turns pages for you. From debunking the Victor Dubuisson myth to blowing up the social construction of Patrick Reed, the entire thing is tremendous. . . . Your only regret will be that there aren't 400 more pages to peruse." --Kyle Porter, CBS Sports "A riveting read." --Library Journal "I think it's important to have books like this in the canon of golf, in the canon of sports." --Damon Hack, Golf Channel "With Eldrick Woods reduced to a sideshow, Shane Ryan's Slaying the Tiger offers bright, opinionated prose on the modern game. Ryan's fresh look is just what we golfer/readers want." --Curt Sampson, New York Times bestselling author of Hogan "Ryan does a fantastic job painting a thoughtful and accurate portrait of the new crop of heirs apparent. . . . With enthusiasm and irreverence, Ryan explores the various personalities of these newer faces in the game and probes into their backgrounds via a bevy of sources, from their parents to their college coaches, to paint intriguing and colorful and sometimes brutally honest portraits of the personalities that have taken over the PGA Tour." --Stephanie Wei, Wei Under Par "An exquisite study of a number of the PGA Tour's stars with an emphasis on the younger generation about to take over from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson." --Ryan Ballengee, Golf News Net
Synopsis
"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER In "Slaying the Tiger, "one of today s boldest young sportswriters spends a season inside the ropes alongside the rising stars who are transforming the game of golf. For more than a decade, golf was dominated by one galvanizing figure: Eldrick Tiger Woods. But as his star has fallen, a new, ambitious generation has stepped up to claim the crown. Once the domain of veterans, golf saw a youth revolution in 2014. In "Slaying the Tiger, "Shane Ryan introduces us to the volatile, colorful crop of heirs apparent who are storming the barricades of this traditionally old-fashioned sport. As the golf writer for Bill Simmons s "Grantland, "Shane Ryan is the perfect herald for the sport s new age. In "Slaying the Tiger, " he embeds himself for a season on the PGA Tour, where he finds the game far removed from the genteel rhythms of yesteryear. Instead, he discovers a group of mercurial talents driven to greatness by their fear of failure and their relentless perfectionism. From Augusta to Scotland, with an irreverent and energetic voice, Ryan documents every transcendent moment, every press tent tirade, and every controversy that made the 2014 Tour one of the most exciting and unpredictable in recent memory. Here are indelibly drawn profiles of the game s young guns: Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irish ace who stepped forward as the game s next superstar; Patrick Reed, a brash, boastful competitor with a warrior s mentality; Dustin Johnson, the brilliant natural talent whose private habits sabotage his potential; and Jason Day, a resilient Aussie whose hardscrabble beginnings make him the Tour s ultimate longshot. Here also is the bumptious Bubba Watson, a devout Christian known for his unsportsmanlike outbursts on the golf course; Keegan Bradley, a flinty New Englander who plays with a colossal chip on his shoulder; twenty-one-year-old Jordan Spieth, a preternaturally mature Texan carrying the hopes of the golf establishment; and Rickie Fowler, the humble California kid striving to make his golf speak louder than his bright orange clothes. Bound by their talent, each one hungrier than the last, these players will vie over the coming decade for the right to be called the next king of the game. Golf may be slow to change, but in 2014, the wheels were turning at a feverish pace. "Slaying the Tiger "offers a dynamic snapshot of a rapidly evolving sport. Praise for "Slaying the Tiger" This book is going to be controversial. There is no question about it. . . . It is the most unvarnished view of the tour the biggest tour in the world that I ve ever read. And it s not close. Gary Williams, Golf Channel A must-read for PGA Tour fans from the casual to the most dedicated . . . This book is certain to be as important to this era as John] Feinstein s "A Good Walk Spoiled"] was two decades ago. . . . A well-researched, in-depth look at the men who inhabit the highest levels of the game. " Examiner.com" A masterfully written account of an important time in golf history. Adam Fonseca, Golf Unfiltered Absolutely marvelous . . . Ryan s writing flows and his reporting turns pages for you. Kyle Porter, "CBS Sports" A riveting read. " Library Journal" Ryan s fresh look is just what we golfer/readers want. Curt Sampson, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Hogan" Ryan does a fantastic job painting a thoughtful and accurate portrait of the new crop of heirs apparent. Stephanie Wei, Wei Under Par", NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In Slaying the Tiger, one of today's boldest young sportswriters spends a season inside the ropes alongside the rising stars who are transforming the game of golf. For more than a decade, golf was dominated by one galvanizing figure: Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. But as his star has fallen, a new, ambitious generation has stepped up to claim the crown. Once the domain of veterans, golf saw a youth revolution in 2014. In Slaying the Tiger, Shane Ryan introduces us to the volatile, colorful crop of heirs apparent who are storming the barricades of this traditionally old-fashioned sport. As the golf writer for Bill Simmons's Grantland, Shane Ryan is the perfect herald for the sport's new age. In Slaying the Tiger, he embeds himself for a season on the PGA Tour, where he finds the game far removed from the genteel rhythms of yesteryear. Instead, he discovers a group of mercurial talents driven to greatness by their fear of failure and their relentless perfectionism. From Augusta to Scotland, with an irreverent and energetic voice, Ryan documents every transcendent moment, every press tent tirade, and every controversy that made the 2014 Tour one of the most exciting and unpredictable in recent memory. Here are indelibly drawn profiles of the game's young guns: Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irish ace who stepped forward as the game's next superstar; Patrick Reed, a brash, boastful competitor with a warrior's mentality; Dustin Johnson, the brilliant natural talent whose private habits sabotage his potential; and Jason Day, a resilient Aussie whose hardscrabble beginnings make him the Tour's ultimate longshot. Here also is the bumptious Bubba Watson, a devout Christian known for his unsportsmanlike outbursts on the golf course; Keegan Bradley, a flinty New Englander who plays with a colossal chip on his shoulder; twenty-one-year-old Jordan Spieth, a preternaturally mature Texan carrying the hopes of the golf establishment; and Rickie Fowler, the humble California kid striving to make his golf speak louder than his bright orange clothes. Bound by their talent, each one hungrier than the last, these players will vie over the coming decade for the right to be called the next king of the game. Golf may be slow to change, but in 2014, the wheels were turning at a feverish pace. Slaying the Tiger offers a dynamic snapshot of a rapidly evolving sport. Praise for Slaying the Tiger "This book is going to be controversial. There is no question about it. . . . It is the most unvarnished view of the tour--the biggest tour in the world--that I've ever read. And it's not close." --Gary Williams, Golf Channel "A must-read for PGA Tour fans from the casual to the most dedicated . . . This book is certain to be as important to this era as [John] Feinstein's [ A Good Walk Spoiled ] was two decades ago. . . . A well-researched, in-depth look at the men who inhabit the highest levels of the game." --Examiner.com "A masterfully written account of an important time in golf history." --Adam Fonseca, Golf Unfiltered "Absolutely marvelous . . . Ryan's writing flows and his reporting turns pages for you." --Kyle Porter, CBS Sports "A riveting read." --Library Journal "Ryan's fresh look is just what we golfer/readers want." --Curt Sampson, New York Times bestselling author of Hogan "Ryan does a fantastic job painting a thoughtful and accurate portrait of the new crop of heirs apparent." --Stephanie Wei, Wei Under Par
