Woods takes up Phil challenge

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, US: Tiger Woods did not hesitate in accepting long-time arch rival Phil Mickelson throwing down the gauntlet in a “high stake winner-take-all” showdown call at this week’s US PGA Players Championship. Woods, a 14-time Major champion, and Mickelson, a five-time Major winner, are paired along with fellow American Rickie Fowler in the opening two rounds of this week’s event at TPC Sawgrass.

It marks the first time they have been paired together since the second round of the 2014 PGA Championship, when Woods shot 74 and Mickelson 67. Woods and Mickelson have found themselves grouped together on 32 occasions. Mickelson has shot a lower round 15 times, Woods 14 times and they have matched scores on three occasions. Mickelson spoke Tuesday of his wish that he and Woods simply “bypass the ancillary stuff” at the Players in favour of a head-to-head matchup.

“I look at the cover of the newspaper and the pairing is on there and the excitement that has been going on around here, it gets me thinking, why don’t we just bypass all the ancillary stuff of a tournament and just go head-to-head and just have kind of a high stake winner-take-all match,” Mickelson said with a smile.

Woods responded to Mickelson, declaring with a smile of his own: “I’m definitely not against that and we’ll play for whatever makes him uncomfortable.”