Golf fans have reason to give thanks
Woods, Lefty may clash on U.S. Thanksgiving weekend
Move over, NFL and college football. Make way for a new event that reportedly is coming to U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.
It’s Tiger vs. Phil — or Phil vs. Tiger, depending on your point of view — for a boatload of money, according to ESPN. The highly anticipated showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will take place either Nov. 23 (Friday) or Nov. 24 at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg reported.
Rumours about the winner-takeall event have been swirling for a while, with a $10 million payout figure being tossed about. ESPN reported the purse has not yet been determined, but these guys, you know, don’t work cheap.
The event will capitalize on a relationship that has thawed after years of frosty competitiveness and it’s a nod to the fact that Woods turns 43 in December and Mickelson is 48. It’s now or never.
And who doesn’t like money? “It’s a ridiculous amount of money,” Mickelson told Golf.com last month. “No matter how much money you have, this amount will take both of us out of our comfort zone.”
Masters champion Patrick Reed had perhaps the best idea: Let each guy put up his own money. Woods is No. 1 in all-time earnings and Mickelson comes in second with $87,000,000, according to ESPN. Woods, of course, wasn’t going for that. “Of course that’s what he would like to see,” Woods said with a smile last month.
Woods and Mickelson have mellowed in recent years with a rivalry that dates back to junior golf and there was a time, Mickelson admits, when it “sucked” to have to play against Woods. They were grouped together in the first two rounds of the Players Championship this spring and their relationship has warmed to the point where they could do a little playful trash talking, with Mickelson suggesting a big-payday showdown.
“I love that we’re paired together, I think it’s really fun. We haven’t been paired together in years,” Mickelson said then. “… Now, I don’t know if he wants a piece of me,” he cracked, “but I just think it would be something that would be really fun for us to do, and I think there would be a lot of interest in it if we just went straight to the final round.”
Woods had the perfectly snarky response: “Well, first of all, big picture,” he grinned.
That big picture would include Woods’s 14 major championships and Mickelson’s five. A reporter attempted to remind Woods that he’s only one-up on Mickelson head-tohead, which prompted Woods to respond. “How many times have we both, no, no, have we won on tour?”
That would be a commanding 79-43 edge for Woods. “It’s going to be fun playing with him again. We have both done this throughout our careers. We have always looked at each other and said, ‘Where is he on the board?’ ” Woods said of the Players grouping in May.
Is it Thanksgiving yet?
In the interim, the two teed off Thursday in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. Woods shot a 4-under 66 and so did Mickelson.