Monday, August 19, 2002
Woods, Lefty unlikely teammates
By Jerry Potter
USA TODAY
CHASKA, Minn. — Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods aren't the closest friends on the PGA Tour — far from it, so no one expects them to play in any team competition this fall as partners, either the Ryder Cup next month or the EMC World Cup in December.
“I'll be surprised if (the World Cup) fits into Tiger's schedule,” Mickelson said Sunday after finishing tied for 34th at 6-over par in the PGA Championship. “It's difficult for me to fit it into mine.”
The World Cup, scheduled for Dec. 9-15 in Mexico, is a World Golf Championship event that features two-man teams selected from the World Golf Ranking of Sept. 23. The top two ranked players from each country are supposed to form the team. In the current ranking, Woods is No. 1 and Mickelson is No. 2.
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG, says Woods hasn't decided if he will play this year's event.
“People are going to read far too much into the World Cup decision,” he says, “but it will be a decision made on his schedule for the remainder of this year and the beginning of next year.”
Asked if the two players are friends, he answered, “They're competitors.”
Fellow pro and friend of both players, Mark Calcavecchia, was quoted in “Golf Digest” recently saying Mickelson and Woods have a frosty relationship.
Steinberg says he and Woods haven't discussed scheduling for the remainder of the year and the beginning of next year. He says they'll talk about it later, but would not say when.
Woods faces a busy schedule this fall, including the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, the Skins Game and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, all in November. Also, he hosts the Williams World Challenge in December, the week before the World Cup.
He has played in the World Cup in each of the past three years. He won it with Mark O'Meara, his close friend, in 1999; won it again with friend David Duval in 2000, and tied for second with Duval, a fellow Nike endorser, as his partner in 2001.
But Steinberg notes this year's event is a week later in the schedule and that creates problems.
“My opinion is the World Cup is really the beginning of next year's schedule,” says Steinberg. “He'll start the season at the Mercedes Championships in January, so that means he'll have little time off.”
Meanwhile, Mickelson says he'd like to play in the World Cup.
“But if I haven't played competitively in two months,” he adds, “I'm not sure that gives the U.S. the best chance to win.”
Mickelson, while a perennial winner on the PGA Tour and equipped with some of the best shot-making ability in golf, has become best known for being the “best player to have never won a major.”
With this week's effort, Mickelson is now 0-for-42 lifetime in major championships and must wait until next year's Masters for his next chance.
Both Woods and Mickelson are members of the U.S. team that plays Europe in the Ryder Cup, Sept. 27-29 in England. U.S. captain Curtis Strange was asked Wednesday if he would pair the two in either alternate-shot or best-ball competition.
“I don't know,” he answered with a shrug.
On Sunday Davis Love III, a member of the U.S. team, was asked if he expected to see Woods and Mickelson paired during the Ryder Cup.
He stared straight ahead, thought for a moment, and said, “I doubt it.”
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Woods, Lefty unlikely teammates
