Despite Their Bad Blood, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Who Never Even Texted Each Other, Once Revealed the Secret to Their Newfound Relationship

When one thinks about the best players in the world of golf, the list comes down to a couple of players. And Tiger Woods certainly tops that list like he tops most other lists in golf. But along with the golf legend, Phil Mickelson has also made huge contributions to building the game of golf. Despite their everlasting rivalry, the two have also had great times around each other. And there was a time when Woods talked about his relationship with Mickelson during the 2000s.

What was the relationship between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson like in the early 2000s?

Woods and Mickelson have made many records individually as well as together. The two are highly responsible for bringing much-needed fame to the sport with their splendid performances. However, both of them have had a bumpy ride together when it comes to their relationship off the field.

The world is well aware of the rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. But the two have certainly had the utmost respect for each other. Even after Mickelson recently decided to play in the LIV Golf league, Woods explained his disappointment about the golfer’s decision. But Mickelson still had huge respect for the golf legend and his opinion. Nevertheless, things were never this way between the two.

Woods was in an interview with the ‘No Laying Up’ podcast, where he talked about how his relationship had evolved with his biggest rival. The interviewer asked Woods how things were between the two during the early to mid-2000s. “We definitely didn’t text one another back in those days,” Woods said. “We were competing with one another. I was one and he was two in the world for so many weeks. And we were trying to outdo one another.”

Woods also compared his relationship with Mickelson to that between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus back in the day. Palmer and Nicklaus were also huge competitors of each other. And according to Woods, Palmer and Nicklaus also went through similar phases at the beginning of their careers. “They didn’t really acknowledge one another like they did later in their career,” Woods said. And according to him, the same happened with him and Mickelson.

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“We’ve understood that we are certainly more alike than we would like to admit,” the 15-time major winner said. “We both care and are passionate about a lot of the same things”. Woods mentioned how Lefty was donating his charitable efforts towards the US military. And similarly, Woods was adamant to work towards the same noble cause since he grew up around the military with his father serving in the US Army. In the end, Woods admitted that he had become pretty close to the six-time major champion over the years.

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