Phil and Tiger at Tuesday’s Talk trading jabs at one another View video
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL–Old rivals don’t die. They just fade away.
That’s what happens when hype overreaches and reality sets in. Two aging former titans of golf might promise a dramatic pairing, but in the case of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the tease didn’t even lead to a peck on the cheek.
Highly Anticipated Clash
Phil and Tiger. Tiger and Phil. Every medium pumped up the volume on the highly anticipated clash from the moment the pairing for the first 36 holes of the Players Championship was announced as Jason Day was trying to hold onto the Wells Fargo Championship trophy this past weekend in Charlotte, NC. Past Players champ Rickie Fowler, the third member of the group, was mere window dressing to the nostalgic stroll down memory lane.
Then the curtain came up and the lights went on. What Mother Nature failed to reveal, Father Time did. Neither player was at his best, but Phil, coming off a T-5 in Charlotte, was dreadfully off his game.
Perhaps it was the long-sleeve Callaway-logoed shirt he wore in the near 90-degree heat that produced the icy results. Or maybe it was his sharp needle warning Tiger that he might not want any of him at this point in their respective careers that instead of jabbing Tiger punched a hole in his balloon.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Shot heard round the world
Whatever the case, Phil squandered a good start (one-under through four holes) in the first round with wayward drives that drove him to distraction. It got so bad on the back nine that a clearly frustrated Phil thinned a short approach shot through the green on No. 14, flubbed a pot bunker shot and had to hole a six-footer for double bogey. Two more double-bogeys over the final three holes and Phil had carded a disappointing 79.
Game, set, match rendering Friday’s round a mere formality.
Meanwhile Tiger’s frigid putting made the trip from Charlotte to here without apology. He made nothing again except a curling 18-footer for eagle at the par-5 ninth and another scrambling bogey at 18 for an even-par 72.
Scrappy but unspectacular. Although the 240-yard 6-iron to set up the eagle was pretty strong.
Maybe that’s Tiger’s new reality. Certainly the old cat has seen better days, but is he now relegated to a sideshow to the main event? Must tournament officials stage so-called “super’’ pairings with Tiger’s longtime rivals to create more buzz and thus sell more tickets?
Is Ernie Els next?
Don’t get me wrong. I was also intrigued by the potential of a Tiger-Phil renewed rivalry. They could have inspired each other and mixed it up with the tour’s new stars. Now that would have been something to witness up close and personal.
From my view inside the ropes, however, the vision I’ll have etched into my memory is of Tiger looking more mortal than ever and Phil looking like a slightly overweight middle aged man (Phil’s description of himself) out of place in long sleeves and short hopes of beating his old rival this week.
For the record, Tiger narrowly made the cut at one-under-par 142, while Phil had a good fashion week modeling his new line of shirts.
That’s as real as it gets.
ABOUT PETE McDANIEL
Pete McDaniel is a veteran golf writer and best-selling author. His blogs and books are available at petemcdaniel.com Comments on this topic may be emailed directly to Pete at: gdmcd@aol.com or visit his Facebook page.
