‘He Never Played Him Again’: Jack Nicklaus Made a Staggering Revelation About Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s Rivalry in a Candid Conversation Once

We have heard many stories of the intense rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. However, a story by the great Jack Nicklaus epitomizes the love-hate relationship between the two pros. Their long-going rivalry was not only confined to the golf courses; outside the golf course, Woods and Mickelson wasted no opportunity to prove who was better.

Not once, but many times both the pros have come head to head and competed against each other. Sometimes the PGA pro wins, and sometimes he loses. However, their rivalry took another direction when Mickelson joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf and left the PGA Tour behind. Woods has always been against LIV, and the GOAT of golf did not appreciate the lefty’s decision. Despite the bad blood between the two, their friendly match story will leave a smile on your face.

The story of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s love-hate relationship

On the eve of the 2018 Masters tournament, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player indulged in a conversation where he shared a story. He said he “got a little story with Phil and Tiger, which I love to tell.” The story was about when a friendly ping-pong match became the defining moment between the two major championship winners. Nicklaus said they were all riding on the bus, where the former number one golfer was sitting next to his rival Mickelson.

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It was surprising because they were not seen much together, and they were talking till they reached the cabin. “Phil and Tiger, sitting next to each other. That’s curious because I had not seen him much in the last year. They talked all the way out until they got to their cabin.” There was a ping-pong table in the cabin, and the LIV defector suggested a game of ping-pong, to which Woods agreed. “So Tiger plays, he wins, Tiger wins the first game they play. Tiger wins the second game. Phil says I got this buffet behind me. He says let’s switch ends,” narrated Nicklaus.

Then the pros played another ping-pong match, and Mickelson took the lead this time. The former PGA pro suggested one more game; however, Woods denied it and said, “Phil, two to one.” And then the pros never played the whole week again. “And he never played him again the rest of the week. I mean, you know it’s a competition, it’s friendly, it’s with a smile,” said Nicklaus.

Many more stories in the store, hidden away in the annals of golf

We can find many such stories of their rivalry, which started in the late 90s. However, one of such story is worth mentioning. It was February 1998 when Woods and Mickelson decided to play a practice round ahead of the Nissan Open at the Valencia Country Club in California. Both the pros were in their 20s and full of energy. They put a side bet of $500, and the winner would take the amount home.

Mickelson emerged victorious at the end of the practice round. As a celebration, he decided to put the photocopies of his five winning $100 bills into the locker of the 15 times major champion, with a note. And the message read, according to Bob Harig in his new book “Tiger and Phil – Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry”, “Just wanted you to know Benji and his friends are very happy in their new home.”

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What are your thoughts on the rivalry between Woods and Mickelson? Is it just a love-hate or a hate-hate relationship?