The resurgence of Tiger Woods’s golf game has people reminiscing about the good ol’ days of the Masters, but there was one unusual sight Tuesday morning at Augusta National Golf Club.
Woods. And Phil Mickelson. Together. Playing nine holes, along with Thomas Pieters and Fred Couples.
In the halcyon days of their rivalry, this might not have been thinkable, but times change and golfers age, so they made a date to hit the 10th tee for some practice at 6:30 a.m. MST. We’re unlikely to have many updates, though, because of the Masters’ rules prohibiting the use of cellphones (and other electronic devices) on the course. At least initially, there “wasn’t a whole lot of chatting” between the two men, according to the Golf Channel’s Tiger Tracker. (He watched briefly at the 10th tee, then went inside to tweet a modest update.)
The main show will be Tiger and Phil, who have seven green jackets between them, on the course, naturally. Couples admitted as much Monday, telling reporters, “Me and Thomas may just sit back and watch.”
As for reports over the years about their chilly rivalry, both golfers tried to put that to rest during the Presidents Cup last October.
“Tiger and I have been good friends and have gotten along very well in these team events for many years now,” Mickelson said (via Golf.com). “Just because it doesn’t get reported or shown, is irrelevant. We’ve worked very well in these team events, and to share in our success has been really fun for us.”
Both, certainly, are older and wiser now.
“I think the press has made it out to more than what it has been,” Woods said. “We’ve been friends for a very long time. We’ve gotten very close by being on these teams. We’ve played against each other a lot down the stretch, and we have both enjoyed it.”
