Tiger vs. Phil, China-Style!
For the half-dozen of us that actually give a hoot about professional golf in the Fall, we get what will surely be a melodramatic showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is bound to occur in Shanghai, China at the HSBC Champions.
The rivalry between the two best-ranked golfers in the world seems to have leveled-out recently, and possibly due to the news revolving around Mickelson's family life. Six weeks ago in Atlanta, the two superstars had the chance to grab everyone's attention once again, and both players ended up winning something (Tiger = the FedEx Cup, Phil = The Tour Championship) and it lacked the "flare" that one would expect from such a showdown.
In fact, the only other time that I can recall where fans were hanging on every single shot was at this year's Masters... which again didn't seem to matter since neither of them won.
Regardless, both Tiger and Phil are saying all of the right things in order to promote this snooze-fest of a golf tournament and the possibility of once again going head-to-head.
"I'm excited that Tiger and I are able to compete in the same event here in China," Mickelson said Wednesday on the eve of the HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club. "I think that it will provide some exposure to the game of golf throughout the country, and I'm hopeful that we compete head-to-head over the weekend, and are both in contention" (AP, 2009).
"I'm looking forward to it. I think everyone is," Woods said. "Having this now become a World Golf Championship, I think everyone is very excited about what this tournament means in the scope of things, not just here in China but in all of Asia. As a player, we are looking forward to playing this golf course against such a great field" (AP, 2009).
Regardless of what happens this week in China, the opinion that Tiger vs. Phil has lost a little of the pizazz is still rather strong among golf fans.
FanPosts are written by Waggle Room members. Viewpoints expressed do not necessarily reflect those of WaggleRoom.com, editor, Charles Boyer or any other writer or member.
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I've been known to be a bit cynical, but...
…what exactly makes this tournament a snoozefest? It has a better field than about 20 PGA Tour events from this past year.
If someone thinks that Tiger v. Phil has lost its pizazz, wait until they are paired together in the final group on Sunday in Augusta battling for the lead.
do you know when that’s going to happen ? every year they say the same thing – and it’s something you can’t disagree with, but it’s also something that rarely happens.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Exactly...
… and I won’t be holding my breath for the next time Phil is in the final pairing of a Major.
Adam Fonseca
It's like Jordan v. Drexler/Barkley/Malone
Was it really a rivalry or just one dominant player giving out an annual bitch-slap to the next best?
Dammit. I was going to DVR it and
watch it at my leisure instead of the middle of the night. But, if that makes no sense, I’ll just skip the whole tournament. Oooops, too late. I set the DVR on Sunday.
Great field, great course, Great Scott….
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Nov 4, 2009 5:10 PM EST reply actions
World Series & WGC
I set the DVR last night, but was also able to catch some action between innings and during pitching changes. I think all non-Majors should be played in China! (not quite, but it made for a great night of watching sports)
After two rounds...
It’s a great, diverse leaderboard. You have the top two players in the world, great young players, and great international players.
Dear Phil,
Your shirts appear to have gotten uglier and tighter. You are not skinny, you are not European, and you are nearly a decade removed from your 20s.
Everyone agrees that you look better than you did wearing the oversized Ford logo shirts, but you still look foolish. Whoever is telling you that you look good is either lying to you or has bad taste.
Please stop.
Congrats in advance for your second place finish this week.
- Matt in Baltimore
Those Ford logo shirts were
not golf shirts, Matt, they were bowling shirts. If you looked closely on the sleeve, it said, ‘This bowling team sponsored by Eddie’s Grocery Stores’. Also the shade of blue in the Ford logo matched the “12” embroidered on the back of the bowling shoe. He had the largest shoe size on the team…
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Nov 7, 2009 9:40 PM EST reply actions

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