Jack Nicklaus Once Revealed An Epic Unheard Competitive Story About Tiger Woods and His Arch Rival Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods is known for bringing a revolution to the game of golf. People across the world used to consider golf an elite sport that requires no athletic skills. But all these perceptions faded away after Woods entered the field as a pro. Another player who has had a very successful career in golf is Phil Mickelson.

Lefty and Woods have been rivals since the beginning of their golf careers. However, there was a time when both of them were close. This is evident through an instance that Jack Nicklaus shared about the two.

Jack Nicklaus shares a Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tale

Woods and Mickelson have been longtime rivals. The two were among the most famous golfers in the same era, thus the competition  between them was eminent. However, the two got close over time and were on good speaking terms with each other. An instance portraying the same was shared by 18-time major winner, Jack Nicklaus, about both the golfers.

Jack Nicklaus talked about a ping-pong game between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson during The President’s Cup. He described the incident in a YouTube video on the Masters’ Channel. He said, “We were riding out in the bus, and Phil and Tiger were sitting next to each other… They got to their cabin, and there was a ping-pong table in the cabin.”

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He continued, “Phil says ‘hey Tiger, how about a game of ping pong?’ ‘Sure, let’s play.’So Tiger plays, and Tiger wins the first game.” According to Nicklaus, Woods won two consecutive games of ping pong against Mickelson, until Lefty pointed out that the buffet behind him was bothering him. After switching sides, Mickelson won the third game. He then asked Woods to play another game, but Woods said, “Phil, two to one. And he never played him again the next week.”

Woods’ comments about Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods stepped up against Lefty after the controversial statements made by him against the PGA Tour. Woods’ reaction to these statements by Mickelson came shortly after the incident. He said, “Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the Tour have pushed back against.“

Apparently, Mickelson accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and used a ton of other unacceptable phrases. However, soon after these comments, Mickelson joined the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and gave up on his PGA Tour career. A lot of other players also joined Mickelson on his way to LIV Golf. But the new league has definitely caused a major threat to the PGA Tour for sure.

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