Woods’ best golf will never be repeated, says Mickelson

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla (Reuters): Tiger Woods in his prime played the best golf ever seen and it is highly unlikely those heights will ever be reached again, Phil Mickelson said on Tuesday (8 May) ahead of this week’s Players Championship.

Mickelson traded friendly barbs with his old rival during their respective press conference at TPC Sawgrass, their relaxed demeanour a far cry from the days when, as the older American admitted, “it sucked” to have to face Woods on the course.

“I don’t think (we) will ever see that level of play again,” 47-year-old Mickelson said. “It was the most remarkable golf in the history of the game and I think unrepeatable. I think it was that good.”

The once icy relationship between the multiple major winners has thawed since they hit their 40s, and they appeared genuinely pleased to be grouped together for the first two rounds here on Thursday and Friday.

They have played together only once at the Players Championship -- in the third round in 2001 -- when Woods was at the peak of the powers that brought him 14 major championships in barely a decade.

It was the era when Woods won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes, a record performance Mickelson suspects some younger players do not fully appreciate.

“I look at 2000 as being kind of the benchmark at the US Open as being the greatest golf I’ve ever witnessed and I believe has ever been played,” said Mickelson.

“And it sucked to have to play against him,” Mickelson continued. “You look at it and say ‘how am I going to beat this?’. There was a stretch there that it was hard to imagine that it was actually happening, that he was hitting some of the shots that he was hitting.”

The hype over their grouping this week -- they will play with another American in Rickie Fowler -- prompted Mickelson to playfully suggest side-lining the other 142 players and deciding the title in a head-to-head winner-takes-all match.

Woods to play in British Open at Carnoustie

Reuters: Former world number one Tiger Woods has confirmed his entry for the 147th British Open at Carnoustie, the tournament organisers announced yesterday.

The 42-year-old has lifted the Claret Jug three times in his career, but has not contested the sport’s oldest major championship since 2015 due to injury.

Woods, a 14-time major champion, has played seven times this year on his comeback after a successful spinal fusion operation last April, with a tie for second at the Valspar Championship being his best result.

The Open returns to Carnoustie for the first time since 2007 when Woods finished joint 12th, when he was seeking a third successive victory.