“We all eat from the bowl of life. Tiger Woods just has a bigger spoon,” writes Curt Sampson in his groundbreaking account of the current state of golf. Tiger Woods has changed golf forever. His mix of power and skill combined with his extraordinary business savvy make Woods the biggest global sports figure since Michael Jordan. Like Jordan, Woods’ competitive signature is equal parts inspiration and intimidation. But what about the other guys? It’s either catch up or give up for the rest of the golfing world, and in Chasing Tiger, Curt Sampson exuberantly charts the state of the game as the new century unfolds.

There are Duval and Mickelson and a host of other stars, of course, but there are also the junior golfers and their parents, corporate America, agents, instructors, fans, and the media. Just as he did in his controversial bestsellers Hogan and The Masters, Sampson digs deep to uncover stones that wouldn’t otherwise be told There’s the golf course employee in Austin whose admiration for Woods leads him to spend every waking minute mimicking his hero (including the trademark pumping fist, only here it’s on the practice green). At the other end of the scale is Charles Howell III, skinny as a 2-iron, an up-and-coming player who has been tapped by Jack Nicklaus to be the next great challenge to Woods. Howell is the anti- Tiger: a man unfailingly friendly to fans and media recently married, opinionated, and entirely lacking in caution, yet he struggles to earn enough money to make the Tour. Curt Sampson has written an affectionate yet wary account of one extraordinary man’s impact on the world of sports. By turns moving, hilarious, and eye-opening, Chasing Tiger is a wonderful addition to the golf canon.