Tiger Woods was the supereminent golfer at the prime of his career. Nobody stood a chance against the fifteen-time major championship winner, with most of his adversaries competing haplessly for the runner-up spot.

Yet, one man defied Woods more than the latter would have liked. Still a polarizing figure in men’s golf, Phil Mickelson managed to win six major championships in the height of the Tiger Woods era. Well-known for his competitive desire, the latter wasn’t a fan of ‘Lefty’ and his triumphs, which fueled the golf legend to win every competition on offer.

Why did Phil Mickelson’s first major championship irked Tiger Woods?

Back in the 90s, Mickelson didn’t take long to make an immediate impression on the golf circuit. Boasting a glittering amateur record, the then-teenage sensation made heads turn when he secured victory at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur.

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The record still stands as the most recent win by an amateur at a PGA Tour event, which propelled Mickelson to glory. However, he was unable to capture a major championship for more than a decade, which lead many to describe him as the best player never to win a major.

However, Mickelson battled the test of time to finally emerge as a major championship winner at the 2004 Masters Tournament. The win dawned a new era for the 52-year-old, who became a regular at holding golf’s most prestigious trophies on Sundays.

While Mickelson could never match the grandeur of Woods, his victories lived rent-free in the latter’s mind. The golfer’s emotions were recorded by his then-caddie, Steve Williams, who described the feeling in his book, ‘Out of the Rough’.

“Phil was his arch-rival and to see him finally win a major gnawed away at Tiger because, like everyone else, he knew that once Phil won that first major, he had the ability to win again and again,” Williams wrote in his book. “He definitely struggled to deal with Phil finally breaking through. Some of the language he used wasn’t pretty, but to me the bottom line was that he didn’t like seeing Phil win and would do his best to make sure it didn’t happen again”

Does Tiger Woods reserve the same feeling toward Phil Mickelson?

After years of tenacious battle, it seems like the duo has eased their strife. Indeed, Woods was among the first to congratulate Mickelson after the latter’s historic victory at the 2021 PGA Championship.

However, Woods’ ambition to be one-up against his once-nemesis hasn’t gone according to plan. Indeed, Mickelson’s move to the LIV Golf Series for an alleged fee worth $200 million turned him into one of the richest golfers of his time.

But his controversial contract left him helpless in the eyes of public scrutiny. Initially leaving the PGA Tour to force changes, Mickelson gradually turned the tables after the world realized the golfer’s good intentions from the word go.

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