In the field of golf, there is no doubt that one of the most exciting rivalries that has been witnessed is that between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Their rivalry in their peak days was never off the course but was always evident on the course. It was like seeing two players bringing out the best in each other. During an interview, 5 years ago, Woods admitted to losing to Mickelson, and described the relationship as ‘hot and cold’. What did he really mean by this?

The 48-year-old Woods, with a record 15 major championships, is an aggressive competitor, and with 6x majors to his name, so his Lefty. In a CNN YouTube interview, he was willing to discuss the emotional side of their rivalry. “We’ve always respected one another,” Woods added. “But losing to [Phil] doesn’t feel very good, and I tend to rub it in.”

What the two golfers shared was a mix of friendly and cutthroat competition, with both admiring each other’s capabilities. Woods said that he and Mickelson would always follow each other’s performances during tournaments. “We’d always find out; okay, I know he’s playing on the 14th. What is he through? What is he right now? How many under is he?” Woods said how it reminded him of the great battles of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

This constant awareness not only improved their own performances but also made sure that each round was as charged as it could be. For Mickelson, the fact that he was competing against Woods made him go to the next level. “Tiger coming along during my career and playing as well as he did got the best out of me,” Mickelson said. He then added, “I saw a level of play that I had never seen before.”

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A close ally to both, Daniel Berger once revealed that both of them are very competitive, even at the things they are bad at like ping-pong. He also revealed that how two are very different from each other; Lefty likes to think that he is best at everything he does, whereas TW is quiet. However, as the careers of these two progressed, the rivalry between them got different. Mickelson’s decision to join LIV Golf in 2022 was a major split. Woods, a PGA Tour loyalist is now the PGA Tour Enterprise Vice Chairman and an integral part of the $3 billion merger.

This transition was made especially apparent during the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. But how? Their brief interaction did the trick.

The awkward encounter at Royal Troon

The two icons, who used to be in direct competition with each other, are now light years apart. In one of the practice sessions at the Open, Mickelson and Woods exchanged a brief and somewhat awkward “hi,” highlighting the growing distance. About the interaction, Mickelson further remarked, “We said hi, but we were both preparing.” The rivalry between Woods and Mickelson took another twist when the latter produced a good performance at Royal Troon. He made it to the weekend while Woods failed to do so.