Be Right
Rick Reilly on his latest golf book, the two sides of Phil Mickelson, and the time he thought he was going to die in Greg Norman's car
Taylor Hill
When the topic of Greg Norman comes up these days, most people want to talk about the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. When Rick Reilly is asked about The Shark, though, he has a flashback to a long ago ride in Norman's car. A heartpounding ride, that is.
“He was friends with this race car driver and I said, ‘Did he teach you anything?’ and he goes, ‘Watch this,’” Reilly recalls. “We’re on a two-lane road in backwoods Dublin, Ohio, we do a complete 180, I’m seeing telephone poles and trees and my life going by. We must have been doing 100 when we did it. . . . He was crazy, that guy. His life was amazing.”
Of course, Reilly's life has been pretty amazing as well. The longtime Sports Illustrated columnist and author has a seemingly unlimited supply of fantastic stories—which is what made wrapping up a recent Zoom call with him for this episode of Be Right so difficult.
After speaking with Reilly for nearly an hour on a wide range of topics from The Shark to Tiger to Phil to Jack, we were left wanting more. And fortunately for golf fans, more of Rick's takes and tales are exactly what he's provided in his latest book, "So Help Me Golf: Why We Love the Game," which is now available.
In the meantime, we're confident you'll enjoy our chat with the legendary writer as he shared his reasoning for why Nicklaus tops Tiger, the two sides of Phil Mickelson, and more. Plus, we reveal a red-hot gambler on the Golf Digest staff and give out our AT&T Byron Nelson picks. Please have a listen: