Is Phil Mickelson a bigger star than Tiger Woods now?
There are many leading players worldwide, and Phil Mickelson is among them. However, the situation becomes more complicated when a star like Tiger Woods faces tough challenges from his rivals.
The former world No. 1 Woods is not delivering his best these days and is risking his popularity and ratings.
On the other hand, Mickelson is following the right path, as he finished several tournaments at the top positions.
Both the American players are in a state of competition and they are proving tough rivals for each other.
If we look at their performance since January 2011, it is easy for us to say that Phil Mickelson is far better than Tiger Woods.
Woods ruled the golf world for years but now he is often seen faltering on the course. His popularity seems to have been snatched by Mickelson, who has now become one of the world's most famous golfers.
However, Woods is not an easy target, as he is still hard to defeat. His past career is quite successful, which cannot be matched by any other golfer.
There are many similarities and differences between them. However, Mickelson's achievements since 2011 outnumber that of Woods'.
Mickelson played 21 PGA Tour events in 2011. His performance at most was impressive.
He won the title of the Shell Houston Open and was also the leading player of the winning US team of the Presidents Cup.
He earned $3,763,488 and finished 11 tournaments in the top-25 list.
His driving distance was 299.8 yards with a 53.20% accuracy. Similarly, he scored 8 eagles and 297 birdies throughout the year and impressed the spectators on and off the course.
Mickelson started his 2012 PGA season in January and played five events in the current season. He won the title of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am impressively.
He also secured the runner-up position at the Northern Trust Open and amazingly earned $1,789,931 in total.
His performances and scoring average are enough to make him the hottest star of the current PGA season.
Shedding light on Tiger Woods' performance may help clear the picture, explaining why Mickelson has eclipsed his long-time friend and rival in terms of popularity.
Woods played only 9 events on the PGA Tour in 2011 and has not won any of the titles.
The only victory he was able to grab was the Chevron World Challenge, an unofficial event. He was also the part of winning US team of the Presidents Cup.
Out of the 9 tournaments, he finished only 3 in the top-25, which is not so attractive. He delivered a mediocre performance in the last season and earned only $660,238.
His driving average was 293.7 yards with 48.90% accuracy and he only scored two eagles and 102 birdies in 2011. His driving distance, average and scoring is far behind Mickelson's.
Similarly, Woods also played two tournaments in the current PGA season and displayed better performance than before. However, a victory is yet to be achieved.
Now, it has almost been three years that Woods has not claimed a victory that can improve his position in world rankings.
The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2009 was the last victory and since then, he has been striving to record a win.
The 14-time major winner is not in his form now. On the other hand, Mickelson is delivering his best on different golf courses and playing better than Woods.
Hence, all the ratings and figures are speaking loudly in favour of Mickelson. He is on a potential lead against Woods and is also increasing the number of his fans by the day.
If Woods wants to regain his lost glory, he must display good performances in most of the tournaments.
If he manages to win some titles early this year, there are ample chances for him to surge past Mickelson.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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