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Price per head - Onshore Bookmakers
It’s a Phil-fledged rivalry: Mickelson dogs Tiger
By Karen Guregian
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The tables have turned, ever so slightly, during the last nine months.
No disrespect to Tiger Woods, but right now, Phil Mickelson pretty much owns the show.
He’s doing what Tiger routinely did not so long ago. He’s winning multiple green jackets. He’s winning back-to-back majors. He’s dominating other PGA Tour events. He’s driving the ball a mile. He’s mentioned as a possible Grand Slam winner.
And he’s also throwing intriguing new possibilities into the bag, like his dueling big sticks.
Black now may be the color of choice on Sundays instead of red.
An intruder into Tiger’s world?
“No, it’s (still) Tiger’s world. I’m just living in it, and I’m having a great time in it,” Mickelson told ESPN after earning his second Masters win two days ago.
This current trend is a good thing.
Although there’s the so-called Big Five, which is really a Big One (Tiger) followed by a Big Four (Phil, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els), a legitimate rivalry between any of the world’s greatest players has never been formed.
With Mickelson emerging from the pack, maybe there will be a constant foil for Tiger, someone who will push him to even greater heights. Maybe Tiger will be so annoyed that he wasn’t able to close the gap on Mickelson Sunday, he’ll work even harder (if that’s possible) to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I think we all can agree Mickelson is no longer the same guy who couldn’t close out a major, who used to throw caution to the wind and who blew leads all over the majors landscape. He’s no longer the best golfer to never win, the player with all the talent gone to waste.
With better preparation and a newfound confidence needed to close the deal, Mickelson’s turned into a champion who elicits the type of dread Tiger does on the Sunday of a major.
In the past, players could count on Mickelson finding a way to lose. Not any more. If Lefty has a lead on a tough course like Augusta National, you can pretty much put a win in the books - just like that guy who’s won 10 majors, holding on to a final-round lead each time.
Mickelson’s play Sunday was textbook. He was patient, didn’t take any unnecessary risks and capitalized on the holes where he has a distinct advantage - the par 5’s. It was Tigeresque.
“He’s a much better player,” Fred Couples said of his final-round playing partner Sunday when asked if he was different from the player who won the Masters in 2004. “He hits the ball, I think, much better. He gets it around the golf course. I mean, this is a pretty good golf course. Last week (Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic by 13 strokes) was incredible, and then coming in here to shoot the scores he did on a very tough course.
“There’s no doubt he’s changed. He’s an incredible player. He’s got more talent than anyone out here in his hands and in his game. You’ve got obviously Tiger, but you’ve got Ernie Els and Retief and those are great, great players. But I think Phil can overpower a golf course like Tiger can.”
When it comes to majors, it’s no longer a matter of if for Mickelson, it’s a matter of how many more. He’s got three in the bag, and it seems like he could win countless others.
Everything is in place for Lefty, or shall we say, this visitor in Tiger’s world. There’s no reason to think he won’t continue having a blast.
And maybe, before long, Tiger will join the party.
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