THE BEST OF
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Age and life’s ordeals have a funny way of changing relationships, and for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, that was never more evident than on a Tuesday morning at the 82nd Masters.
Fred Couples spilled the fact that the rivals for two decades had arranged to play nine holes together, and by the time they started on the 10th tee, thousands of fans were hustling down to Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club.
The grandstands were full, the galleries 10 deep, and when Woods drained a 15foot eagle putt on the 13th hole, the roar was such that you’d have thought he was making a Sunday charge.
Phil and Tiger and Augusta. A couple of 40-somethings out for a stroll on a comfortably warm morning, sharing a few jabs, laughs and enough impressive shots to give us the impression there may still be thrills to come.
Playing with the 58-year-old Couples and a 26-year-old Belgian, Thomas Pieters, Woods made two eagles, adding his second at No. 15, and shot 5-under in a four-hole stretch.
Mickelson hit a phenomenal practice flop shot at 15, the ball trickling into the cup, and earned a knuckle bump from Woods.
And Tiger needled Phil about his stiffcollared, button-up shirt that was best worn to a shareholders meeting.
“The only thing missing was a tie,” Woods quipped.
No one could quite wrap their head around it, this warming of a relationship that has always seemed placed on a bedrock of respect, without much evidence of an authentic connection.
“I walked past Tiger on the range … and I said, ‘I never thought I would see the day – Tiger and Phil playing a practice round at Augusta,’ “Rory McIlroy said with a grin. “So we had a bit of a laugh about that.”
It’s not clear when Woods and Mickelson last practiced together anywhere. A reporter offered to Mickelson that it might have been two decades ago, before the then-Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.
Mickelson thought it was more recent, but couldn’t be sure.
The Tuesday game was arranged on Monday when Mickelson asked Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, if they were free for practice. Woods and Mickelson somehow convinced Couples and Pieters to let them be teammates. It was a rout for whatever cash they were playing for. “An appearance fee,” Woods joked. They seemed to enjoy themselves from the first tee on, when they started in the order of their green jacket ownership: Woods 4, Mickelson 3, Couples 1, Pieters 0.
Golf fans are likely to remember the cooler days of the Woods-Mickelson relationship, which wavered between some silliness (like the Mickelson “inferior equipment” line being blown way out of proportion) to what seemed like a genuine rift (they barely spoke in being beaten as a twosome in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills).
Ironically, it may have been the 2016