Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson could pair for Ryder Cup
There’s a tendency to think of the Ryder Cup like the Avengers: you’ve got the best golfers in the world, you pair ’em together, and magic happens, right? Not so much.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson aren’t the best golfers in the world anymore. But there was a time they were, 14 years ago, and they played two opening-day sessions at Oakland Hills. They got waxed, losing to Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in the morning, and Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in the afternoon. They haven’t paired together since.
Why don’t Tiger and Phil work well together?
Whether because of ego, personality or some other intangible factor, Woods and Mickelson just didn’t click, personally or professionally, for many years. And no sane Ryder Cup captain would think of pairing the two when there’s so much unspoken heat between them.
But that was then. This is now. Mickelson and Woods have warmed to one another over the years, as it’s become clear that Phil’s not catching Tiger, and Tiger’s struggled over the last half-decade. Their relationship is now strong enough that they’re willing to do a $9 million Thanksgiving pay-per-view, though oddsmakers are going to favor Woods heavily.
As for this week, there’s a chance the two could end up paired together. They played a practice round Tuesday with Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau. And captain Jim Furyk had positive words for both.
“Both Phil and Tiger have been really involved in our team atmosphere,” Furyk said. “Both of them have been huge, huge leaders in our team room and have helped the younger players significantly, and both are excited to be playing this week. And the first time they have both been on a team together in quite some time, and it’s a lot of fun. They’ve always been big helps in the team room and guys we have relied on, captains have relied on in the past, players have relied on.”
Mickelson didn’t tip his hand when asked whether he and Woods would play together. “I do have an idea of what Captain Furyk is thinking,” Mickelson smiled. We’ll find out what he knows soon enough.
Of course, here’s another view:
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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