Lefty and Tiger, head-to-head again
SAN DIEGO - Someone in the U.S. Golf Association with a decided sense of appreciation put this U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where the placid beauty of the Pacific meets the inspiring coastline of California. Then somebody in the U.S. Golf Association, over in the Department of Humor - surely not the same person - has paired Phil Mickelson with Tiger Woods for the first two rounds. Or paired Tiger Woods with Phil Mickelson, if you prefer, just to be fair with this stuff.Just for the record, when the U.S. Open starts Thursday morning (they're off No. 1 at 8:06), the third guy with Phil and Tiger will be Adam Scott, the promising Australian. You'll recognize Scott. He'll be the guy shooting 60. If he isn't, you won't know he's even there.
To some, this means a crowd control problem. How could anybody with any sense pair the world's No. 1 and No. 2 (that's Woods and Mickelson, in order) in the same group and expect anything but grid lock. Well, Scott is ranked No. 3, so that hints at a good answer, because there's also a pairing of Nos. 4, 5 and 6 (Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Rose). A nice symmetry. Or it could be the ever-innovative USGA just jumping on a chance to hand you a simmering little behind-the-scenes feud.
Maybe it was just a chance to get Woods and Philly Mick together. Anyone who knows about what's called interpersonal relationships knows what this means for these guys.
Mickelson: “Beer, Tige?”
Woods: “You betcha - go have one.”
Or maybe:
Philly Mick: “Need a fourth?”
Tiger: “Oh, gee, bummer. We already have three.”
How do you spell “No love lost”?
But it was starting to sound like old home week in the pre-tournament chats with the media. Woods, for instance, was asked what he thought of the pairings, the 1-2-3 thing. The question was really about being paired with Mickelson. But just as though he didn't recognize a loaded question when he heard one, he answered with a certain boyish charm.
“I like it,” Woods said. “I like the way they did it - one through 12. I think it's exciting for the fans, exciting for the players. We are all looking forward to it. I haven't heard one negative thing about it. Everyone I talked to … is really looking forward to seeing all those guys grouped together.”
Really. Especially 8:06, off No. 1.
Mickelson was positively gushy.
“I think that's awesome,” he said. “I wish we had it more. I haven't liked the way the PGA Tour puts us on opposite ends every week. I think it's great that a major championship has use paired together, because usually one end of the tee times has an advantage over the other.”
(Head-to-head, anyone?)
“I've certainly been on the good end a number of times, and I'm not complaining,” Mickelson said, “but there are times when you're not on the good end, and for us to be on the same end, I think makes it a fair championship.”
(No excuses, anyone.)
Philly Mick gives you “gosh” and “golly,” and gives you those big dimples, and sometimes he's smiling through fangs.
“I loved how it turned out the last time we were paired together,” Mickelson said. “And I hope to have a similar result.”
Mickelson was talking about the Deutsche Bank last September, which he won by beating Woods by two, head-to-head in the final round.
This is called head-to-head: At the par-3 16th, Woods put his 8-iron to 10 feet. Time to wilt. But Mickelson stepped up next and put his 8-iron 6 feet.
Can you spell “No love lost”?
Who can forget the 2006 Ryder Cup? It's not likely Mickelson can. He and Woods were paired in some team matches. Just a pair of killer punches about to smite the Europeans. That was Captain Hal Sutton's plan. But Mickelson went sour, and in the alternate shot left Woods wandering around like the Flying Dutchman, and clearly seething.
Who can forget Lefty smiling and trying to chat with Woods, trying to make nice. And who can forget Woods ignoring him like the world's worst blind date. Later, Mickelson aw-shucked it all off, but it's not likely he forgot, or ever will forget, the humiliating snub being there on world-wide TV for the whole planet to see.
Mickelson also won't forget that head-to-head win in the Deutsche Bank.
He said at the time: “To step up on 16 and knock it inside him felt terrific. The next step is to try to go head-to-head in a major. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to do that next year.”
Next year has arrived.
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