Woods-Mickelson rivalry reignited at Quail Hollow
The two biggest names in golf clash again this week when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson head the field at the Quail Hollow Championship, at Charlotte, North Carolina.
As ever, there are less high-profile figures capable of upstaging either man; Anthony Kim will want to prove he can deliver consistency as well as flair after his third-place showing at the Masters. And Lee Westwood is back in action too, presumably champing at the bit to actually win for the first time on US soil since 1998, especially after running Mickelson so close at Augusta.
But it's the contest between Woods and Mickelson that really captures the imagination. Great rivalries in golf have been thin on the ground in recent years, with Tiger on top and everyone else squabbling over second place. Now though, finally there are signs that Woods is vulnerable.
Even before the infamous car crash, Woods lost last year's PGA Championship to South Korea's YE Yang, despite leading the tournament going into the final day. For Woods, losing from that commanding position was unprecedented, and there's a suggestion that regardless of other distractions, Woods's game is entering the gentlest of declines.
Others will call that result an aberration, pointing to the fact that Woods won nine tournaments in 2009 - but we all know that it's the majors that mean most to the 34-year-old, and last year was the first since 2004 that Woods went without winning one. Not that we're saying Woods has had his day. Whatever you think of the man's behaviour, it's been a rough few months for Tiger, and fourth place at a major competition - his first professional tournament since all tabloid h**l broke loose, shows that the golfer's natural ability remains outstanding, even if his famed white-hot mental focus may be a little on the blink.
And that's good news for the viewer, if not the rest of the field. With Woods' absent from the PGA tour at the start of 2010, Mickelson was being touted as the main reason to watch US golf tournaments, one channel billing the Californian's return to competition as "five weeks of Phil" - though five weeks of filler was nearer the mark, with Mickelson playing anonymously up until that Masters victory.
With Mickelson's wife Amy currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, the golfer could easily be forgiven for having his mind on weightier matters. But there's another theory that, just as Superman needed his Lex Luthor, so Mickelson needs the presence of his arch-nemesis to spur him to greatness. Even if, up until a few months ago, Woods was clearly the superhero of the piece.
Just five years ago in a piece in GQ magazine Mickelson was awarded the dubious accolade as one of sport's "ten most-hated athletes". Pilloried for his phoney smile and an alleged overblown sense of his own greatness, one source was quoted as saying: "Phil Mickelson literally has no friends out there. He annoys everybody."
Compare that denunciation to the cheering response from the crowd at Augusta a few weeks ago, when Mickelson was at his most likable, and not simply because of his domestic woes. It might seem like one h**l of a turnaround, but in truth there have always been fans who have warmed to Mickelson, thanks in no small part to his genial, perma-smiling, high-fiving interactions with the crowd.
That demeanour makes for a stark contrast to Woods' sullen countenance, but Mickelson also deserves genuine kudos for his unwillingness to duck a challenge, often choosing to thrill when more quotidian options are available. That approach was demonstrated most recently at Augusta when the 39-year-old played a daring, risk-laden shot through a narrow gap in the trees, instead of the safe, percentage-play shot that would surely have been the choice of most pros.
Two brilliant golfers, each with greater problems on their minds than winning tournaments, each hoping to escape those problems for a few hours. While the surroundings of the Quail Hollows Championship can't hope to match the majesty of the Masters, perhaps the pair can nonetheless provide a truly electrifying on-course spectacle this week. And if not, we guess there's always the tussle between Anthony Kim and Lee Westwood to keep us watching.
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