Woods deflated Mickelson at the 2001 Masters, out-driving him with a 3-iron

Watching Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods at their prime was a joy: one exceptional golfer pushed by a norm-destroying force to be even better. In the semi-controversial HBO documentary, Tiger, Woods apparently used to look at Phil in “disdain”— unimpressed by Mickelson’s perceived poor work ethic. A publicly tense rivalry came to a head of sorts at the 2001 Masters when Mickelson and Woods were paired on Sunday. On one tee shot, Woods followed a great drive by Mickelson with an even longer 3-iron, after which Phil reportedly asked Tiger if he normally hit a 3-iron that far. Woods said he usually hit it further, as Tiger’s former caddie Steve Williams has it, adding, “I could sort of sense that Mickelson was feeling a bit dejected… That shot just deflated Phil’s ego.”

The relationship was not helped at the 2004 Ryder Cup [left]. Woods was world No. 1, Mickelson No. 2, and U.S. skipper Hal Sutton thought they would be “as strong as old rope” as a pairing. They promptly lost the opening fourball match on the Friday morning, Sutton stuck with them and the pair lost their afternoon foursomes too. Mickelson had recently commented that Woods was playing with inferior Nike clubs, yet it was Mickelson who wildly sliced his drive on 18 into an unplayable lie, to put the final nail in this pairing’s coffin. Europe won that Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills by a record margin.

European captain in 2004, Bernhard Langer, later told Kingdom: “The last thing you want is to put players together who don’t like each other. You can’t expect them to carry each other and to encourage each other.”