A group of Golf Digest writers recently debated which golfing career would have been the most different if Tiger Woods didn’t exist. Obviously, Phil Mickelson was a big part of this conversation, but the five-time senior champion has always made it clear that he’s happy to be living in Woods’ world.
Lefty has long expressed his gratitude to Tiger for causing an explosion in popularity and prize money. And on Tuesday night, Mickelson put those feelings about his longtime friend and rival on paper. Well, virtual card.
The five-time senior champion tweeted this heartfelt message thanking Woods for all he has done for the sport:
Naturally, many wondered what the somewhat random timing of the tweet was. Is Phil hanging up? Certainly not after his fantastic debut in the PGA Tour Champions. IS Tiger hanging it? It certainly wasn’t a good 2020, but nothing to do. Or perhaps, Mickelson plans to be included in more charity / TV events with Woods.
After beating Tiger in the original “The Match” in 2018, Phil and Tom Brady lost to Tiger and Peyton Manning in this year’s “The Match: Champions for Charity”. However, Woods recently chose to partner with his Presidents Cup partner, Justin Thomas, for the upcoming opening of his Payne’s Valley golf course.
Titled the Payne’s Valley Cup, Tiger and Thomas will challenge Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose on September 22 at the new Woods design at the Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo. But while Mickelson wasn’t included in what will be a substitute mini-Ryder Cup, he seemed confident that he and Woods weren’t done with the “The Match” franchise.
“We’ve had a lot of calls in the last couple of days that people want,” Mickelson told Dan Patrick the day after the much-loved game involving Brady and Manning in May. “I think there is an opportunity here to create a competition that is also very fun and that shows a lot of personality but is still very competitive.”
But maybe we’re looking into this tweet too much. Maybe Mickelson felt like saying something nice and typing the words he had said many times before. After all, he won $ 9 million in a single exhibition match with Woods less than two years ago. We would still be grateful enough, too.
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