Masters 2018: Nine things you’ll love about the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson budding friendship
When I woke up on Wednesday I thought I had a dream, so I went on Twitter and checked. Masters app on my iPad. And yes, Tiger Woods And Phil Mickelson willingly played nine of golf’s most famous holes at once on Tuesday.
Leopard And Lefty pumped his fist and made his way out of the Amen Corner Fred Couples And that left spectators like Thomas Peters with their mouths watering and members of the media double and triple checking their field lists to make sure this was, in fact, the same Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson they had been covering for the past two decades.
The pair have combined to compete in 19 major championships, seven of which have taken place at this iconic venue, and the idea that these longtime rivals will become playing partners on Tuesday seems about as likely as Augusta National switching its peach ice cream sandwiches to black licorice for the 2019 Masters.
However, we do have photographic evidence that Woods and Mickelson spent much of the day together (with Mickelson’s encouragement, of course), and there were a lot of different things I liked about that. Here are nine things that stand out.
1. Kermit Meme: You know what I’m talking about. The “but that’s not my job” video with Kermit sitting by the window sipping tea. No golfer’s personality is more apt to live it out in real life, and Mickelson continues to give real examples of that. First, he did it at the 2016 Ryder Cup. Then, he did it again on the range before heading to the 10th tee on Tuesday.
If Mickelson wins this year and Woods finishes behind him to tie him with four green jackets, I will be tweeting this approximately 1,399 times starting on Tuesday next year.
2. That button-up oxford: It’s unfortunate that we can’t bottle the energy of the tweets about Mickelson’s outfit, because they were indelible. Mickelson looked like his accounting team had submitted his expense reports late and he didn’t have time to stop by to play polo before clicking the link, and Tiger called him out on it.
“I had to feel a little sorry for him about that,” Woods said after practice. “The only thing he was missing was par.”
“I don’t know what else to say,” Mickelson said, which had its logo imprinted on its cuff“I thought I’d give it a try. It’s a stretchy fabric, it performs well, and I think it looks nice, so…”
Mickelson has no endorsement deal with the company that makes it, and I have to say, wearing a button-up shirt during a tour with Tiger is the greatest thing Mickelson has ever done, and that too in a place where he knows all eyes will be on him.
3. It inspired this photo mashup: I mean, there are some things you can’t ignore.
4. The respect is genuine: Here are some post-round quotes from the two about each other. These are actual quotes!
- Tiger said of Phil: “Oh man, he’s so competitive. He’s so passionate. He’s so determined. He always wants to win. That’s served him well. He believes in himself so much. And you can see the chances he’s taken over the last couple of years, he does it because he knows he can do it and he believes in that.”
- Phil said of Tiger: “Like I said, I have a lot of respect and admiration for him for what he’s done for the game, and I’ve benefited from that more than anybody else. So when he was going through a tough time, I wanted to do whatever I could to help him, because often times that’s when people aren’t there. I wanted to do whatever I could during the tough times, not just the good, because I’ve reaped the rewards during the good times and I’m very appreciative of what he’s done for me, my family and the game of golf.”
- Tiger said of Phil: “I think it’s because of age. We’re in the twilight of our careers, we both know that. I think he’s 47 and I’m 42, and we’ve had a great 20 years of battles, hopefully we’ll battle for a few more years, but we understand where we are in the sport now and where we were in the early 20s, battling over who was going to be No. 1. That was then, and certainly it is now.”
- Phil said of Tiger: “It’s also possible that he brought out the best in me and forced me to work harder and focus to ultimately achieve success. And looking back it’s hard to determine which challenge it was. But I do know that I’ve appreciated the challenge of playing and competing against him, and I also appreciate the level of greatness he’s achieved in his career, and I’ve also enjoyed the opportunity to play and compete with and against him. And the number of failures I’ve had against him has been tough for me to deal with, but I also enjoy the challenge.”
5. They put on a show of sorts: Woods eagled Nos. 13 and 15 (He eagled No. 2 on Monday), and Mickelson flopped into a wedge on No. 15 for fun.
“We were talking about the difficulty of the shot from the back of the green to some pins, and we were talking about the middle pin, the middle back pin, how hard it is from the top of the green,” Mickelson said. “And it’s hard, but I hit a flop pretty close there, and then I said, ‘But it’s pretty easy over here to this right pin,’ and I just hit a flop and it went in, and he just started laughing at me.”
“It’s a very simple shot; I’ve analysed all the little aspects of this golf course, and it’s quite different for a left-handed player or a right-handed player.”
“That shot on the right was just stupid,” Woods said. “We were talking about that flop shot he made. He has a 64-degree wedge, too. And so when he gets that thing open, it looks like it’s really backwards. He hits that thing, and I don’t know how he doesn’t hit it himself. It’s unbelievable.”
6. How they determined who would tee off first: I love that they left the front nine out. If you’re going to do this thing, do it where you’ve produced two of the five most iconic moments in Masters history. By the way, how did they pick who teed off first on No. 10 between Woods, Mickelson, Fred Couples and the luckiest man of all, Thomas Pieters? “Four, three, one, zero,” Mickelson said. “So we just went in order. He has four jackets, I have three jackets, Fred, then Thomas. It’s an honor.”
wow boy.
7. This resulted in the following exchange: A reporter used the word “bromance” on Mickelson in a post-practice press conference.
I think you can probably tell where a lot of the headlines are going, this budding bromance or this new friendship. Does that sound right to you?
Mikaelson: “I don’t know if I’ll be able to express it in your words. But I don’t want to stop you, so…”
How would you say this?
Mikkelsen: “I don’t write. I’m not a writer. That’s your job. You do your job, and you do it well. I’ll act, and we’ll play our roles. That’s probably what’s best. I’ve seen some of you act, and I think that’s what’s best.”
8. It’s like they just met: Have you ever played a round of golf with a stranger at your local course on the weekend, and loved it? Yes, that’s what it felt like. It felt like two legends meeting their heroes for the first time, but they have the social capital that gives them the ability to take some blows. It seems crazy to say this, but the mutual admiration and sociable nature of the whole event was encouraging not just for them, but for most of us as well.
It felt like the entire tournament was being played over nine exhibition holes.
9. This photo: When I saw it, I was immediately reminded of the photos we’ve all seen of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player at Hogan Bridge. Mickelson and Woods aren’t retired or even close to it, but seeing seven jackets pass by on the Tuesday morning just before the most important event of the year is a reminder that the two hot favorites for the 2018 Masters are also living legends.
Who knows how many more Masters – or majors – we’ll get with these two. Woods’ back is a long-term liability despite its current strength, and Mickelson could retire to work on spreadsheets or volunteer on Elon Musk’s first spacecraft to Mars.
But for this moment, this week, that photo is special. It says so much. That two rivals can become friends. That Augusta National can excite even the most stoic competitors. That as big as Mickelson and Woods are as personalities and brands and people, the sport is bigger than both of them.
