He did it with an assist from Butch Harmon, who'd shared with Lefty some tips to slow the Tiger train. (Like putting out first, before the distracting, pro-Tiger gallery can migrate to the next tee.) After his final round 66 (to Tiger's 67), Mickelson said the next thing on his to-do list was to beat Woods straight-up at a major.
And after winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, in November, Phil tweaked Woods, saying, "It is nice to win a tournament that Tiger has tried to win the last couple of years unsuccessfully."
Mickelson wants it. In golf, momentum and confidence are everything, and Phil has both back on his side. If their long-awaited major showdown is going to happen, this is the year and event.
Combined they've won five of the last seven Masters, relinquishing their death grip on the green jacket only twice, to gritty overachievers Mike Weir and Zach Johnson. With so much personal and professional turmoil (the death of Tiger's father in '06, Phil's swing changes and wrist woes last year), it looks like they'll rule Augusta again in '08.
We crunched the numbers to see who crunches whom. Let's do punch!
PUNCH: Tiger will win because he destroys the par-5s — he's a cumulative 93 under par in his career at Augusta.
COUNTER: So what? Phil is 115 under on the 5s. And the Masters ends not with a par-5 but a pair of par-4s.
PUNCH: Yes, but let's see Phil beat Tiger's 4.40 career average on the par-5 13th — statistically his favorite — where he has three eagles, 29 birdies, 14 pars, three bogeys and one double-bogey.
COUNTER: Phil averages 4.22 on the par-5 13th, including five eagles, 27 birdies, 14 pars and two bogeys.
PUNCH: Tiger makes fewer mistakes than Phil, with only 147 bogeys and 10 doubles in 901 holes.
COUNTER: But Phil makes up for his mistakes. In his 1,044 Masters holes he has made more eagles (9-5), more birdies (232- 214) and even more pars (616-523) than Tiger.
PUNCH: Tiger's average yearly check at the Masters in 11 starts as a pro is $567,554, which would have cracked the top 150 on the 2007 money list.
COUNTER: Money means nothing. Phil will win because he's hungrier from not winning a major in '07. He wants No. 4.
PUNCH: Tiger is golf 's best pressure putter (he was 4th best on the greens in 2007, according to the PGA Tour stats), and led the Tour in both greens in regulation and birdies last year.
COUNTER: Phil knows the Augusta greens as well as Tiger. Maybe better. He's never more at home than at Augusta, and if he can beat Tiger on a course (TPC Boston) he'd never played before ...
Judges' decision: Phil wins on points.
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