McIlroy wigging out, Mickelson not eager to partner Tiger
On a day when a heavy downpour of rain might have dampened less hardy spirits, the European team seemed upbeat during their practice session, several members of the team donning Rory McIlroy-style curly wigs to the delight of the watching fans.
Even McIlroy sported one of the wigs while he teed off, and captain Colin Montgomerie was smiling too, though Monty refrained from trying on one of the comedy hairpieces.
McIlroy had earlier been the subject of debate with US captain Corey Pavin, who ruled out the possibility that he and Montgomerie could collude over the order of the final singles matches on Sunday in order to pit McIlroy and Tiger Woods against each other.
That's the battle that every golf fan would like to see, after Woods told reporters yesterday he would like to take on the 21-year-old. True, the comment was said with a smile, but the word is Woods bears the Ulsterman real acrimony. Earlier this year, McIlroy had suggested that any European player would be happy to face Woods, following the world No. 1's poor performance at the Bridgestone Invitational.
While Pavin professed himself reluctant to engineer the clash, he admitted the prospect of a meet up between the pair is a tempting one. "I think other people have said things like that to Tiger in the past and have maybe regretted it," the captain told reporters.
"I think anything that gets players fired up is always a positive thing for that player who is getting fired up. I know that Tiger is aware of the comment. If they do play against each other I think it would be quite entertaining."
Another player to have enjoyed a strained relationship with Woods in the past, Phil Mickelson was striving to present a united front for the US team, though Mickelson stopped short of suggesting he and Woods could form a successful partnership this time.
Asked if the pair could play together again this time, a deadpan Lefty told the assembled reporters: "I think there's a great chance. Why don't you just hold your breath till Friday."
But Mickelson was quick to offer a real answer after cracking wise, pointing out: "Tiger and Steve Sticker and Tiger and Jim Furyk have partnered together well at the President's Cup. With the undefeated record that Steve and Tiger had at the President's Cup last year, I think that partnership should not be split up. It's no secret that it works well.”
And commenting on the supposed antagonism between Woods and McIlroy, the world No. 2 reckoned: "Any player wants to play the best, and Tiger's ranked No. 1 in the world. That's not any type of controversy. Rory's the nicest guy you could imagine, and Tiger gets along with just about anybody. Rory is as classy a guy as there is, I really enjoy playing with him."
Nice try Phil, but you're not fooling anyone. Woods is spoiling for a fight, McIlroy's hot - let's just hope providence is smiling on Sunday. Either that, or Pavin is yanking our chain about not coming to a gentleman's agreement about the match with Monty.
Tags: