feature-image
feature-image

Butch Harmon is one of the greatest-ever coaches in the sport’s history. He has been the beacon of light for golfers, with several of his pupils securing major championships under his tutelage. That list includes two of the most triumphant golfers in the last two decades, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. However, both golfers parted ways with Harmon, albeit in vastly different circumstances.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

Phil Mickelson’s amicable separation from Butch Harmon

The 6-time major championship winner called it quits after forming a winning partnership with Harmon in 2015. The duo released a statement to inform the world about their partition.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I’ve learned a great deal from him in our eight years together,” Mickelson said in a statement. “It’s just that at the moment I need to hear new ideas from a different perspective.”

Read more: ‘LIV Might Be Done’: Radical LIV Golf Update Does Not Sit Well With Fans

ADVERTISEMENT

The duo clinched several victories during their run, which started with the 2007 Players Championship win. Mickelson claimed two major championships with Harmon, namely the 2010 Masters and 2013 British Open.

ADVERTISEMENT

article-image

At that time of separation, the 52-year-old was on a barren run. He was winless for more than two years and had plummeted to 25th in world rankings. However, he only had admiration for his former coach. “Butch is one of the great teachers in the history of the game and I believe he deserves to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame,” he said later.

ADVERTISEMENT

Harmon receives the silent treatment from Tiger Woods

Similarly, Woods and Harmon struck up a formidable team back in the 90s and early 2000s. The 15-time major championship winner rose to become the face of the sport during this period, winning trophies at will. But with the rising success came the eyes of scrutiny, which eventually broke the successful pair apart.

ADVERTISEMENT

As others found out soon enough, Harmon had received the silent treatment of eviction from Woods. While neither party spoke clearly on the subject, it was presumed that the 79-year-old’s fame had played a role in his expulsion.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the time of coaching Woods, Harmon was already one of the most well-known instructors. Allegedly, regular interactions with the media and fans irked Woods, who has kept an unwritten code of silence amongst his team.

Thus, after more than 10 major championship titles together, Harmon and Woods went their separate ways. Do you think Woods and Mickelson should have been associated with Harmon for longer? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch This Story: Tiger Woods’ $800M LIV Golf Offer Not Even Close to What Was Disclosed by Greg Norman

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Sharan Nair

837 Articles

Sharan Nair is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. He constantly covers the ongoing PGA vs LIV Golf tussle as it progresses. With over 600 articles to his name, Sharan masters the sport with his in-depth knowledge and research that is reflected in his meticulous coverage of all the Majors. As an avid fan of Tiger Woods, Sharan firmly believes that Woods' 2019 Masters win was the greatest comeback in sports history. As a sports journalist, he aspires to one day sit down for an interview with the golf great himself. In his free time, Sharan loads up on some good golf reads; his favorite being 'The Glorious World Of Golf' by Peter Dobereiner.

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Vineet Nandwana

ADVERTISEMENT