Masters Golf: Tiger and Phil -- Boy, Do Those Two Guys Hate Each Other or What?
Man, what a rich, full, and yeasty Masters 2009 delivered! One feels bad for Kenny Perry, who had it won--and the record for oldest Masters winner ever locked up at age 48--but who after a brilliant shot on the 16th hole finished bogey-bogey to drop into a tie with Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera. Cabrera got it done in the playoff, proving that if you start the final round at the Masters in the lead, you can get away with shooting a mere one-under par even though...
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are doing their level best to light the joint up and charge from... well, yes, seven shots back to make a run at the green jacket!
For a while, it looked as if Mickelson was going to do something sort of insane. After he and Tiger locked eyes and exchanged a firm handshake on the first tee, Phil shot a 30 on the front nine, tying a Masters record. For his part, Tiger bombed in an eagle putt to stay in the conversation.
The stage was set for the leaders to melt down and leave the stage to Woods and Mickelson. A back nine duel for the ages!
Not to be. But to their mutual credit, Phil and Tiger knew that merely average rounds--tidy 68s, let's say--weren't gonna make it happen. They both had to go absurdly low. Tiger said -11 was his target, which in the end would have left him a stroke short of a playoff. Mickelson was more aggressive--he correctly estimated that it would take a 64, three shots shy of where he wound up.
Obviously, golf lovers enjoyed the Perry story, the Cabrera story, and even the Chad Campbell story. Campbell may be the best player to have not yet won a major. And Cabrera, a U.S. Open winner who hails from modest means, served up South America's first Masters and redeemed the fraught memory of Roberto De Vicenzo, an Argentine who would have won in 1968 were it not for a botched scorecard.
But c'mon, the action all day was with Phil and Tiger. While Phil roasted the front side, but faltered on the back, Tiger surged, before repeating his recent pattern of dropping shots on the 17th and 18th holes. Fans have been waiting for this pairing since... correct, forever! Mickelson and Woods in a major--and the best major, the one with the greatest potential for theater...both in need of high drama and near-perfect execution to win...it was epic. Too bad they wound up playing for not even second, but who could induce the largest roars to unsettle the actual leaders.
Before the round, I thought that if they both played well and both made charges, feeding off each other, it might change the dynamic of their relationship. They are widely believed to detest each other. Tiger's caddy, Steve Williams, is actually on record for detesting Mickelson. They both played stunning golf, on the game's greatest stage, and after twin bogeys on 18--Phil's to spoil a 66, Tiger's to mess up a 67--they barely had words for each other.
That was disappointing. Neither gave away much in the post-match interview, a loss given the energy of the moment. And it was a Masters moment, one that fans will remember for many years. One hears about tournaments within tournaments all the time, and with both Woods and Mickelson statistically unlikely winners, this tournament within was really more like a micro-major, the subplot that was in many ways more compelling that the main narrative.
One of these days, Woods and Mickelson are going to need to recognize that, like Palmer and Nicklaus, they are forever joined, even if Tiger will have the grander career. They are both very, very good, and they gave us a fantastic show. It would have been nice to witness them acknowledge it, to each other. No, more than nice. Historic. Competition is all well and good, but sportsmanship lasts longer.
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One of the best Master's I've seen in a long while and I do agree that the emphasis was on Woods and Mickelson but that was because of the slobbering and drooling of the announcers. It was frustrating to have the full last day focus on Tiger and Phil when I was interested in the leaders. I enjoy Shingo Katayama and he came in 4th (ahead of both Tiger and Phil!!) but if you watch a replay of the coverage, you would think he wasn't there until his last few shots.
I was rooting for Kenny Perry but Cabrera was high on my list of people I would have been happy to see win. I'm an underdog fan so Woods and Mickelson (although I enjoy watching them both) weren't even on my top 10.
I'm really trying to like Tiger, but in my opinion he really needs to lighten up. He gives curt, smart ass answers on interviews, won't sign autographs, won't visit with fans. Everyone gets it, he's real serious, wants to win at all costs, but jeez give it a break.
Golf's top star has zero personality, followed by Phil, whose not personality plus, then there's a sea of 20 something robots who are just plain boring. The PGA has a problem. Hell I think the LPGA is more exciting, at least you've got some girls with a little flair and some personality.
I hope one day Tiger quits taking himself so seriously and stops acting like such a dork. Mr serious will never do what Palmer or Nicklaus did for golf, because he makes golf look to much like work and not any fun.
I agree. For a while, in addition to all his other attributes, he used to have that Zen calm passed on by both his mother and father (an ex-Green Beret trained in such). Now we have a Tiger who throws clubs, curses on camera, stomps off after bad rounds and acts haughty. Bring back the old Tiger!
I like your point about the LPGA--there are some new, young, dynamic stars there, and they're lively and fun. But also very competitive.
Loved the drama.
PM/TW runs in the front nine were nicely juxtaposed with the tortuise's (Perry) mechanical parring...then overlapped with Cabrero's apparent collapse as the stretch run unfolded.
Perry's drive on the 16th threw in some anti-climax. But his then consecutive bogey's fulfilled our appetite for more...
In the end, didn't mind at all the less polished (thus more human?) Cabrero carry the day.
Please, Tiger is the reason that golf gets any attention as a big time sport now days!!! Phil is good, but he didn't put golf on the map the way tiger has.
People try to play up the bad blood between them but it doesn't really exist. They are just two different types of people with different backgrounds and different upbringings, not to mention the age difference. All they have in common is golf and that's why they don't seem that friendly towards each other . They respect each other and their cordial to one another. The rest is just media hype.
You are wrong on this. These two guys have not gotten along for a long time. They have very different personalities. The media may stoke the fire but they didn't start it. Of course they are respectful and cordial to each other when we see them. They are professional atlhletes on camera.
It's hard to be a fan of either Tiger or Phil, Tiger with the AT& T logo on his bag and Phil a continuing hired celebrity for ExxonMobil--two of the nation's worst corporate citizens. I'll bet Exxon paid more for Master's commercial time than it did for green research all of last year.
Name a top golfer without product endorsements, then go into the history of the endorsers. Give me a break.
"'ll bet Exxon paid more for Master's commercial time than it did for green research all of last year."
Even if that were true it would be worth it since their sponsorship of the event allows for 56 minutes of each hour of CBS coverage to be actual golf. You can't beat only 4 min of ad's an hous.
Tiger Woods deserves NO respect. He is a SCAB who crossed the Screen Actors Guild picket line to do a commercial for Buick. Any progressive should have NO place in his heart for this scab who only cares about himself.
Phil Mickelson and Mr. Cabrera, on the other hand, are wonderful men deserving of our respect.
Give me a break!!!
That's why he gives so much to his foundation for underprivileged youth.
Do you have to be a SAG member to do a commercial for Buick? He's a Golfer, not an Actor.
Hey, nobody's a bigger fan of Tiger than me but a picket line is a picket line.
MIckelson recognizes that he and Tiger are forever linked -- and has said as much in multiple interviews.
Tiger appears he couldn't care less... except maybe to grab a little extra motivation. Tiger is chasing Nicklaus and beyond, so Mickelson is just one of the many would-be-greats he has had to pass on the way to the finish line.
Phil is not a likeable guy. The media makes it worse by sneakily putting him above Tiger's #1 rating.
Who is riding the back of who's popularity in golf? Where was golf before Tiger came along?
As a footnote to all this comparison of these 2 (Woods & Mickelson) to Nicklaus and Palmer. A better comparison would be Nicklaus and Watson. In at least 3 majors, these 2 went head to head with Watson winning each time. By the time Jack was coming into his prime, Arnie was already 40.
You make a good point here. Although I think Mickelson is more of a Palmer-style player. In fact, players who could assume the role of a Watson or--imagine!--a Miller haven't really come along yet in this era. Watson was an impressive ball-striker (he would nip it right off the turf, rarely taking much of a divot) and a very brave putter (he claimed that all short putts were straight if you hit them hard enough). Also a great bad weather player. Miller to me is the most underrated great golfer of all time. He didn't win a lot of majors, and he suffered from putting woes, but for a stretch he was WAY better than anybody. Like, insanely better. For something like two years, he barely seemed to miss and green and hit everything inside five feet. 65 was a bad round for him.
I'm glad to hear someone else remembers Johnny Miller's "insanely better" period. That's not an exaggeration either "folks", he was something else during that time. Whenever I see him announcing I think of that relatively brief but stunning part of his career. Fickle game that golf is, it didn't last as long as he or we would have liked.
Phil Mickelson was asked how he liked playing with Tiger yesterday (as those who were watching will recall) and gave a very cordial reply in keeping with the gentlemanly tradition of the game and certainly of the Masters. To be expected, but I wonder if they aren't really a bit more tolerant of one another than they let on.
Tiger's distance is clearly diminished after the knee reconstruction - this cost him several strokes just on Sunday alone as far as I could see. This may be self imposed due to doctor's orders to avoid early re-injury, but something is clearly amiss as you can tell from his standard "the knee is not an issue" responses to related questions - there is clearly some denial and his full power is just not consistently there.
His long hitting has always allowed him to play more cautiously than others and keep big numbers of his score cards - now or later he'll need to adapt somewhat and accustom himself to not always being amongst the longest hitters out there. This will take some time, so I'll go out on a limb and predict no major titles for Tiger this year.
I'm not sure about this--his average drive was still around 280. And while distance is a big deal at Augusta now that's it's 500 yards longer than in 1997, positioning and hitting approach shots to the correct parts of the greens is also vital.
Bethpage should be more of a test of the new knee, inasmuch as distance goes. I've been trying to figure out what TW is doing with his swing for a while now. I thought he was looking for a more of a draw as his go-to shot, which would be easier on his body and explain why he's flattened his swing plane with Haney. But early in the comeback, he's been hitting open-stance fades. So if he's fading it with his driver, even at a hookers paradise like Augusta, he's going to lose some distance. He also seems to go to the three wood more and more when he needs a hook.
I did notice a time or two when he seemed to be taking one more iron that Phil on some holes, but I chalk that up to Phil's irons being juiced for loft (I think Tiger continues to play irons that are closer to traditional lofts that many other guys' clubs).
Well, who can be sure? I think if he found himself losing serious distance, he could make some adjustments to his driver shaft and perhaps get Nike to make him a ball that goes a bit more.
yea his ball is one of the shortest flying balls made. its too soft cover makes it great around the green but its short on distance
The knee has cost him a level of comfort on the tee and long approach shots that he hasn't adapted to yet. The style of his game will need to change if he expects to recapture any of the dominance at the majors he has previously enjoyed - and he won't this year for certain.
I think you have the story wrong. My understanding (from an excellent source) is that most of the tour pros that aren't racist really like Tiger. He's mostly "one of the guys" and they appreciate how Tiger has raised interest and prize money on the tour. On the other hand, Phil plays the celebrity game to the max and makes great money for doing so. Phil has a total right to handle the game that way but a lot of the other pros resent some of his behavior, causing many players besides Tiger to dislike Phil.
So, begging the question, how many players on the tour today ARE racist? If you've got some news, bring it, OK?
My understanding is that one of the reasons Phil is not liked as well is that he will sign autographs until there is nobody elese waiting in line and some of the others, I have witnessed this, try to do the minimal. I have seen my children waiting at Tiger's own tournament for an autograph and he was so upset over losing to Padrig Harrington that he refused to sign autographs. If that is the celebrity actions Phil is guilty of, I rate him as a good guy as well as good golfer. Somebody is paying for the big money they get paid and the fans are part of it.
I read somewhere and don't quote me on this, that the tour players had a poll among them and Phil came off as the least likable. Did anyone else hear anything about this?
Other pros do seem to have a high opinion of TW. Many don't seem to like Phil all that much. Sometimes I think it boils down to talent: Tiger is phenomenal, but he also practices a ton and will sometimes grind out a round like a guy who 122nd on the money list. Phil freewheels it and will accept a missed cut here and there because he can afford to. Also, Phil doesn't exactly have a nice, textbook swing--it's kind of all over the place. And yet, he's so good that he can win win win with it. That might bug some people.
I think Lee Trevino once called Mickelson a great "money player"--this was before he won his first Masters--meaning (I think) that Phil did approach the game as if he wanted to max out his opportunities for on course as off course gratification. Phil has after all won A LOT of regular tour events. But does appear to be concentrating on winning a few more majors now. Also, I've often got the impression that Phil wants to do some stuff after golf that doesn't involve the Champions Tour, etc. So he does the media thing now to practice for that.
God, I hope you're wrong about Phil wanting to do something other than the Champions Tour, when he reaches that age..........
If it's one thing I can't stand is Phil talking to the press or others. His way of thinking, rationalizing and analyzing is quite bizarre. I'm always driven to think that his wife only puts up with him because she loves their life and him.
Heaven forbid he makes a bid for a commentator's job.
My impression of Phil Mickelson has always been someone desperate to be 'loved'...he constantly plays to the camera and the crowds. His demeanor is 'Please love me, everybody." He's the 'neediest' man on the course. What I love about Tiger is that he constantly comes up with new ways to amaze us. I think for someone who just plain LOVES the game of golf the way he does, he would clearly play for free, with no one watching, and with every cell in his body focused on getting the win! I never grow bored with his play. We are so fortunate to have been alive to watch this man play. I love him.
they are both great golfers, who unfortunately have the personalities of gnats
This was a joke, right? They aren't movie stars (a lot of whom have gnat-personalities) or talk show hosts, they're golfers. It's thrilling to watch them play, and even though I much prefer one of them to the other, I really don't care much about "personality." I just feel really pumped when I see them bring off those brilliant, impossible shots!
Just Guessing that Matthew DeBord Is a big fan of reality shows. Why do Phil and Tiger have to be "friends" Why can't they play golf?
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