PGA Tour icon and current LIV star Phil Mickelson is a legend in his own right, but still believes, like others, that Tiger Woods is the greatest ever to touch a golf club.
“He owned me the first half of our careers,” Mickelson told YouTuber Grant Horvat. “His record against me head-to-head was dominant. It is now even when we play together.” Mickelson was once told that if he drove the ball straighter during his career, he would be more like Woods.
“Obviously, his record is his record. He’s the greatest of all time,” he continued. “I’ve seen him do things with a golf ball that I’ve never seen anyone else do. His play in 2000 was indescribable. He owned me in the early part of our careers, and the second part, I owned him. Our head-to-head record is, I believe, dead even.”
Indescribable might even be putting it lightly. 2000 is still considered the most incredible single season in golf history. Woods won nine tournaments and annihilated the competition.
He earned wins at Pebble Beach, Bay Hill, The Memorial, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, the PGA Championship, and the EMC World Cup. In between, he was runner-up at the Buick Invitational, The Players, and the Tour Championship.
The LIV Golf star was on the other end of that greatness more times than he probably cares to remember. According to NBC Sports, in the 38 rounds they’ve played together up to 2020, Woods carded the lower score 19 times.
Mickelson achieved 15 wins, tying with Woods four times. Overall stroke count favors Woods again, 2,653 to 2,678. Woods had a lower average score when paired with Mickelson (69.60 versus 69.91), won more tournaments in those pairings (10 compared to 5), and finished 20 strokes under par across those rounds.
Mickelson’s accolades include 45 PGA Tour wins, six majors, and the distinction of being the oldest major winner in golf history. His “Tiger Slayer” driver was even the headline club at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he outdueled Charlie Wi and sent Woods plunging down the leaderboard to a 15th-place finish. Mickelson walked away with $1.1 million that day. Woods went home with just $102,000, low by his standard.
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While Mickelson praised Woods as the GOAT, Tiger refers to Jack Nicklaus as the greatest player of the sport. Despite tying Sam Snead with 82 PGA Tour wins and finishing just three shy of Nicklaus’ major total, Tiger still calls Nicklaus king.
Nicklaus returned the favor to Woods after calling Bobby Jones the greatest golfer to ever live. He acknowledged that Woods would have surpassed all others if he had not faced injuries during his career. Jones remains the only player to have achieved a Grand Slam in one calendar year, including winning the British Open, U.S. Open, British Amateur, and U.S. Amateur. Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory completed a career grand slam.
“We all have injuries, we all have different things in our lives which change things, and Tiger had his problems,” said Nicklaus. “I feel bad for him about it, but it is what it is. He’s still a great influence on the game of golf.”
