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How Phil Mickelson’s $9 million gamble on Tiger Woods backfired s

By Admin October 12, 2025

Phil Mickelson’s $9 million gamble on Tiger Woods backfired spectacularly

When The Match: Tiger vs. Phil was first announced, it sounded like a dream come true for golf fans. Two of the sport’s biggest legends were set to face off in a one-on-one duel for a winner-take-all prize of nine million dollars. The event promised excitement, tension, and a chance to relive one of golf’s most famous rivalries. But when the day came in November 2018, it didn’t go as planned.

At that time, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were past their prime years. The fire that once fueled their battles on the PGA Tour wasn’t quite the same. Still, the idea caught everyone’s attention, and it turns out the person who made it all happen was Mickelson himself.

JUST IN: Tiger Woods’ latest surgery casts doubt on a future comeback

During a recent episode of the Bible Caddie podcast, golf creator Grant Horvat shared that Mickelson had been the driving force behind The Match series.“Phil set up a lot of that,” Horvat said. “He was the one who pushed for those Capital One events with Tiger, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning.”

Phil’s Vision Turned Into a TV Headache

Mickelson wanted to bring a new kind of entertainment to golf, blending the atmosphere of a big pay-per-view fight with the calm precision of the sport. On paper, it looked like a great idea. In reality, things went sideways before the first hole was even played.

Fans who paid $19.99 to watch the event couldn’t log in because of a streaming failure. According to Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report ended up making the broadcast free to avoid more backlash. Viewers missed the start of the match, and the buzz quickly turned into frustration.

My favorite version of The Match was Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning vs Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady. HILARIOUS. Hard to believe that was *4!* years ago (right after Covid hit).

Phil: “I gotta activate the calves and I gotta STEP on one here!” 😂#TheShowdown pic.twitter.com/FuQ83cCD04

— Brad (@StatsBrad) December 18, 2024

Once play began, the excitement never really showed up. The banter felt flat, and the competition moved slowly. Commentator Charles Barkley even joked on air that it was “some pretty bad golf.” After 18 holes, the match was tied, and it took four extra playoff holes before Mickelson finally won. The problem was that by then, most viewers had already tuned out, as reported by The Guardian.

A Lesson in Missed Opportunities

Mickelson’s later event, Champions for Charity, featuring Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, went much smoother and raised millions for COVID-19 relief. That version of The Match had humor, teamwork, and the kind of energy fans wanted the first time around.

The original $9 million showdown between Woods and Mickelson remains a reminder that big names and big money don’t always equal big entertainment. For Phil, it was an ambitious idea that changed how golf approached televised events, but it also showed how even the best concepts can fall short when the execution isn’t right.

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Tiger Woods’ latest surgery casts doubt on a future comeback

By Admin October 12, 2025

Tiger Woods has undergone his seventh back surgery — his second in just over a year — after doctors discovered a collapsed lumbar disc that had caused severe pain and mobility issues.

The 49-year-old golfer announced on social media Saturday that the latest procedure, a disc replacement, was performed Friday in New York.

“After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with doctors and surgeons to have tests taken,” Woods wrote. “The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.”

Tiger Woods’ medical history in the last 10 years

READ: 10 Tiger Woods statistics that will blow your mind

The operation adds to an extensive medical history for Woods, who has endured a string of surgeries on his back, knees, leg and Achilles over the past decade. He has not competed this year while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in March, and it is unclear when — or if — he will return to competitive golf. The 15-time major champion’s latest setback likely rules out appearances in December’s Hero World Challenge, which he hosts, and the PNC Championship, where he has played alongside his son Charlie.

Since surviving a 2021 car crash that nearly resulted in the amputation of his right leg, Woods has played only sparingly — just 15 official events in four years, often withdrawing mid-tournament due to pain. His most recent competitive round came in the TGL simulator league he co-founded with Rory McIlroy, though his October surgery now makes participation in the league’s upcoming season improbable.

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10 Tiger Woods statistics that will blow your mind

By Admin October 11, 2025

Beyond the 15-major haul and the 82 PGA Tour wins, there are even more numbers behind this man’s career that are quite staggering

He represents one half of the ‘greatest golfer ever’ debate with Jack Nicklaus. He never did chase down the Golden Bear’s major haul of 18 titles, but there were fireworks along the way.

82 PGA Tour wins, to be precise, and not to mention 15 major titles. His victory at the 2019 Masters was quite something at a time when everyone had written him off, 11 years after his most recent major win at that stage.

He fist-pumped, he cheered, and he cried during an unforgettable career, and one of the likes that we won’t see again.

JUST IN: Phil Mickelson accused of misleading one major player into leaving the PGA Tour and joining LIV Golf

We want to go through the best statistics from Tiger’s career. We’ve given you some spoilers above with his PGA Tour and major tally, but we want to get into the specifics, the nitty-gritty, the numbers that are truly mesmerising.

Crazy Tiger Woods stats

Consecutive cuts made

This statistic is bananas. For over seven seasons, Woods made 142 cuts in a row.

He missed the cut at the 2005 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and this was the first one he missed since the Bell Canadian Open in 1997. Remarkable.

Weeks spent as World No.1

Woods’ dominance wasn’t just clear by his trophy count, but also by the amount of time he spent at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings.

He was World No.1 for 683 weeks in his career. That is the equivalent of over 13 years. The next best is Greg Norman, who was World No.1 for 331 weeks, and Scottie Scheffler is the only current competitor who could conceivably catch either of these players.

Winning a major by 15 shots

A 15-shot margin is ridiculous, especially at a major. He won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by this margin, beating Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez in second place.

He had a 10-shot lead after three rounds, and extended it by five with a final-round 67. He also won The Masters in 1999 by 12 shots and The Open in 2000 by eight shots.

Winning 41 times in Europe without being a member

Woods has never been a member of the DP World Tour, or what used to be called the European Tour. But he is credited with 41 victories on the Old World Circuit.

His first win at a European Tour event that wasn’t a major was at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand in 1998.

The Tiger Slam

The Tiger Slam. Now this is something we will likely never see again. Woods held every major trophy at once, an achievement that spanned across 2000 and 2001.

His 2000 US Open started the streak. He then won The Open at St Andrews and the PGA Championship at Valhalla. Then April came around, and he won the Masters by two strokes from David Duval.

Win percentage

Through the 2025 season, Woods had played in 378 PGA Tour events and won 82 times. This is a win percentage of 21.69%, which is a truly staggering effort across a career spanning four different decades.

Leading the majors

This statistic is mightily impressive, but not completely surprising given he won 15 majors. When Woods led or shared the lead heading into the final round, he only lost once.

He led by two shots after the third round of the 2009 PGA Championship, but lost by three shots to Y.E. Yang. He came from behind to win the 2019 Masters, having trailed Francesco Molinari by two shots after 54 holes.

The Grand Slammers

Think of the number of golfers who have played in the majors in the history of the game. It is a lot, but there are only six golfers who have won all four men’s major titles.

Tiger Woods is one of them, and he completed his set of four at the 2000 Open. He was the youngest to do it, and he completed it in just three years to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus in this most exclusive club. Rory McIlroy earned his career grand slam at the 2025 Masters.

King of the US Amateur

Woods is the only player to have won the US Amateur three times in a row. His first came at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in 1994, beating Trip Kuehne in the final.

He beat Buddy Marucci a year later by the same score at Newport Country Club the following year, and then Steve Scott was his third victim at Pumpkin Ridge on the 38th hole of the 36-hole final.

Top finishes

Woods successfully defended a title on the PGA Tour 24 times. He also finished runner-up 31 times and came third 19 times. This shows just how many more events he could’ve won.

He also holds the record for the most consecutive rounds under par. The streak began at the 2000 GTE Byron Nelson Classic in the second round and finished 52 rounds later at the 2001 Phoenix Open in the second round.

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Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson: Whose career earnings and

By Admin October 10, 2025

Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson: Whose career earnings and investments reign supreme?

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are much more than two of golf’s greatest players. They’re two of its biggest business empires. Over the period of two decades, the two of them have defined what it means to succeed both on and off the course. They successfully turn championship wins and smart investments into huge opportunities.

Considering pure career earnings, Tiger Woods holds an upper hand. He earned over $120 million in PGA Tour winnings and numerous endorsement deals, making Woods golf’s first true billionaire athlete. He has a long partnership with Nike. This is estimated to have brought in roughly $500 million, helping transform him into a global icon. Ventures like his TGL tech-forward golf league and the Sun Day Red apparel brand with TaylorMade also portrayed an athlete who has mastered both performance and business.

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Phil Mickelson with his clear strategies

Phil Mickelson has left no stone unturned, either. He’s the PGA Tour’s second-highest earner, collecting around $96 million in prize money. His shift to LIV Golf in 2022 was worth $200 million. This added another layer to his already impressive wealth. Unlike Woods, Mickelson’s income stream has leaned heavily on endorsements. Brands like Rolex, Grayhawk Golf Club, and VisaJet are associated with him. His wellness coffee brand, For Wellness, has become a personal passion project. It is an example of how he has turned lifestyle into a business.

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The two are well-known for their own unique characteristics, which are also clearly evident through their financial rivalry. Tiger Woods is known for being disciplined and private. He is careful with his money and spending. He’s even known for being a bit strict when it comes to tipping. Phil Mickelson, in contrast, is friendly and generous. He’s known for handing out $100 tips at lemonade stands and once gave $1,000 in tips to staff at Augusta after winning the Masters, earning him the reputation of being a “man of the people.”

The slight gap defining the personalities

When it comes to Augusta National, there is not much difference between the two. Mickelson now tops the Masters all-time earnings list with $9.8 million. This is just beating Woods from the edge, who owns $9.6 million. This clearly shows how the two legends are separated by a fine line. They are still pushing each other decades into their careers.

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A post shared by Sun Day Red (@sundayred)

The answer to who wins is all about how success is measured. The bar of who reigns cannot be defined so easily. Woods may have the larger empire, but Mickelson’s generosity and longevity have carved him a legacy money can’t buy. In golf’s richest rivalry, both have won in their own way.

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Tiger Woods beaming with pride as son Charlie delivers another big golf victory

By Admin October 8, 2025

While golf fans were glued to the Ryder Cup drama, Tiger Woods’ son Charlie Woods was quietly putting on a show of his own — and winning again.

The 16-year-old prodigy fired a sizzling 68 and led The Benjamin School to team victory at the South Florida PGA Junior Golf West Coast High School Championship at The Club at TwinEagles Talon Course in Naples, Florida.

Charlie came out swinging with eight birdies in his opening round, mixing one bogey and a triple but still carding a brilliant 68 to sit tied for second after day one.

READ: Tiger Woods return date set in ESPN announcement after months out through injury

He couldn’t quite repeat that fireworks display in round two, but held his nerve with four birdies and four bogeys to finish at 4-under for the 36-hole tournament, good enough for T4 overall.

Teammate Clint Lewis matched Charlie’s 4-under total, and the pair proved the driving force behind Benjamin School’s narrow four-shot win over Sarasota High School.

Benjamin’s five-man squad — Woods, Lewis, Andrew Tsar (10-over, T30), Drew Sterling (2-over, T13) and Campbell Hogan (14-over, T46) — combined for a team total of 1-over, enough to top a strong 16-team field.

The individual title went to Jack Donovan, who beat Henry Liebwein in a two-hole playoff after both finished on 9-under-par.

Out of 98 starters, 82 players completed the event.

This is already Charlie’s second high school team title, adding to his Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class A State Championship win last November.

Now a junior at The Benjamin School, Charlie continues to rise up the ranks — he’s currently No. 9 in the AJGA national rankings, and his CV reads like that of a seasoned pro.

Charlie captured his first individual AJGA title earlier this season in May with victory at the Team TaylorMade Invitational, and he finished a respectable T9 at the Boys Junior PGA two months later.

The South Florida PGA Junior Golf West Coast High School Championship also featured a girls’ event, won individually by Abigail Lee and by Barron Collier in the team competition.

There is anticipation that Charlie and his father Tiger Woods will once again team up in the annual PNC Championship just before Christmas.

Woods, who turns 50 on 30 December, has been out of competitive action all season after recovering from surgery to repair a left Achilles tendon.

Charlie will graduate from The Benjamin School in 2027.

It remains to be seen which college Charlie will choose to represent.

Charlie’s father Tiger attended Stanford University, but initial reports indicate he is unlikely going to follow his father’s footsteps.

One potential option for Charlie could be Florida State, but at this stage it’s unknown.

How does Charlie Woods’ performance compare to other notable junior golfers?

Charlie Woods is one of the best American junior golfers in 2025.

Tiger Woods’ son is currently ranked ninth in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) rankings in October 2025.

Charlie has accumulated an average points of 46.72 points.

But he is some way off the top spot held by Miles Russell, who is also ranked 14th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

Russell’s rise in the junior ranks has been so dominant that he has already been invited to compete in four tournaments on the PGA Tour.

But the 16-year-old has missed the cut each time.

Charlie is ranked 905th in the WAGR.

Here’s a look at the top 20 players on the AJGA rankings as October 2025:

AJGA Rankings (October 2025)
Rank	Player	Grad Year	Avg Points
1	Miles Russell	2027	160.964
2	Giuseppe Puebla	2027	92.576
3	Luke Colton	2026	81.201
4	Jessy Huebner	2027	64.959
5	Tyler Mawhinney	2026	63.776
6	Hamilton Coleman	2026	62.279
7	Lunden Esterline	2027	50.633
8	Tyler Watts	2026	50.188
9	Charlie Woods	2027	46.715
10	Ronin Banerjee	2027	44.612
11	Chase Hughes	2028	44.400
12	Evan Liu	2027	41.687
13	Luke Ringkamp	2026	38.917
14	Dawson Lew	2027	38.085
15	Bailey Sutter	2026	36.822
16	Cameron Kuchar	2026	35.882
17	Mason Howell	2026	34.024
18	Drake Harvey	2026	33.433
19	Ayden Fynaut	2026	33.425
20	Pennson Badgett	2026	33.078
VIEW FULL AJGA RANKINGS

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Tiger Woods return date set in ESPN announcement after months out through injury

By Admin October 7, 2025

Tiger Woods is set to make his return to competitive golf for the first time in a blockbuster matchup against Rory McIlroy for the return of TGL.

Woods ruptured his achilles in March, ruling him out of the Masters and pretty much everything since. The 15-time major winner broke cover in September and was seen hitting balls in a positive injury update. ESPN has now confirmed the schedule for Season 2 of TGL and he will face off against McIlroy on March 1.

McIlroy and Woods are both co-founders of TGL, and will face each other in TGL’s first primetime Sunday night match following the conclusion of the PGA Tours Cognizant Classic. McIlroy represents Boston Common Golf and Woods represents Jupiter Links.

READ: Phil Mickelson pours cold water on Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup captain

The network debut on ABC will be a rematch of last season’s thrilling finals between Atlanta Drive GC and runner-up New York Golf Club, where both finals matches were determined by a single point.

Mike McCarley, a Founder and CEO of TMRW Sports and TGL says that it “returns for Season 2 with an elevated experience for fans at SoFi Center and those watching at home.”

“We worked with our partner at ESPN on an enhanced schedule for our second season that includes TGL’s broadcast network debut on ABC,” he said.

In the fourth match of the season, Woods and Jupiter Links will face Season 1 runners-up New York Golf Club. Last season, New York staged an incredible comeback as they made the playoffs and reached the Finals after starting off with two losses.

New York includes Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick, and alongside Woods will be Max Homa, Tom Kim, and Kevin Kisner.

Last season, New York dominated Jupiter to earn their very first victory after switching up their introduction music and eventually coming out on top 10-3. Woods, Kisner, and Kim struggled to get anything going early on.

TGL features six teams made of top PGA Tour players and is a 15-match regular season that includes seven matches in a nine days that represents nearly half of the regular season.

The top four teams make the TGL playoffs, and include a best-of-three Finals on Monday, March 23.

According to ESPN chief Rosalyn Durant, TGL “delivered everything we had hoped for in its first season: an innovative new sports product, good competition among the stars of the PGA Tour and a strong audience.”

The season will run from December 28 to March 3, with the top teams advancing to the playoffs at the end of March. Throughout the season, matches will air in the U.S. on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and the ESPN App.

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Phil Mickelson pours cold water on Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup captain

By Admin October 5, 2025

Phil Mickelson pours cold water on Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup captaincy and names two alternatives

Phil Mickelson has talked down the idea of Tiger Woods leading Team USA at the next Ryder Cup and named his two choices ahead of the golf legend.

In the wake of Europe’s stunning Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage Black over the weekend, talks of Woods leading the USA at Adare Manor in 2027 has been rife.

READ: How Charlie Woods Leads Team to Victory at South Florida PGA Hi

Mickelson, on the final day of this year’s action, ruled himself out the running for the captaincy role and now has said that Woods should do the same.

In response to one fan on social media, who had claimed that Woods is ‘not the answer’, Mickelson suggested basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and football coach Lou Holtz are two options that the USA should look into.

In a post on X, he explained: ‘Here is why looking outside of golf to a coach K [Krzyzewski] or Lou holtz is worth exploring.

‘Golf is an individual sport that doesn’t have team work, support system, partnership, team analytics, personality traits, and more.

‘The Europeans have a template that teaches and prepares their captains for these skills. U.S. has a new template every 2 years with little continuity.

‘If a coach K or Lou Holtz or someone similar took over, would it be built upon or would it be scrapped and start over again afterwards? If that’s the case, it would be a waste of time and effort and not worth doing to begin with’.

USA’s captain for this year’s event, Keegan Bradley, came under fire from critics after his role in hyping up the rowdy fans in attendance and the overwhelming feeling that the Americans entered the tournament underprepared compared to their rivals.

The contrast between the two captains was striking with Luke Donald, the European skipper, being the personification of meticulous planning and flawless strategizing.

Woods’ name has cropped up as the ideal candidate to succeed Bradley but Mickelson would prefer Krzyzewski or Holtz – despite their lack of golf expertise.

Krzyzewski was a five-time national champion during his time as head coach of Duke University from 1980-2022 and is regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.

He also leade the United States national team to gold medals at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and played a role in their success at recent FIBA World Cups.

However, he has not been on the sidelines since 2022 and previously claimed he was not going to ‘pull a Tom Brady’.

Holtz, meanwhile, is best known for his tenure at Notre Dame, where he led the Fighting Irish to the 1988 National Championship and 100 wins.

He remains the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 15 rankings.

After retiring from coaching, he since worked as a TV college football analyst but called time on that back in 2015.

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Jack Nicklaus makes bold Tiger Woods prediction and aims dig at Phil Mickelson

By Admin September 27, 2025

Jack Nicklaus has predicted that Tiger Woods will “dominate” the Senior Tour if the 15-time major champion chooses to play when eligible.

Woods turns 50 later this year and will become eligible for the series now known as the PGA Tour Champions. His playing future is uncertain after a torn achilles ended his spring, forcing him to miss the Masters at Augusta.

Woods has played sparingly in recent years while battling significant injury issues, though remains eligible for many top events on the PGA Tour.

READ: How Tiger Woods’ relationship with Vanessa Trump got exposed

It may be that the 82-time winner does not wish to play in the age-group tour, which has 28 events on its 2025 calendar.

But Nicklaus believes that Woods, who is three short of his record tally of major titles, will compete.

“I think Tiger will get well and Tiger will be back and play,” Nicklaus said after opening the Masters alongside Gary Player and Tom Watson.

“I believe he’ll probably play the senior tour and I believe he’ll probably dominate the senior tour. Tiger is too much of a competitor to not play. I don’t believe he will not play. I believe he will play.

“I don’t think Tiger will play for money. He doesn’t need money. Tiger will play for competition. He loves competition, and he’s very good at it, obviously.”

Nicklaus’s record, once thought likely to fall when Woods was in his pomp, appears safe, with Woods no longer regularly competitive in the majors.

Among currently active golfers, Phil Mickelson has the second-best major title tally, with six, though the left-hander has missed the cut at four of his last six majors after joining LIV Golf.

Nicklaus appeared to take a shot at the Saudi-backed breakaway series when he questioned the level at which Mickelson is playing.

“I don’t know what level Phil is competing at,” said Nicklaus. “I guess he’s still playing. He’s playing the LIV Tour, is he? I don’t know if he’s playing or not. I don’t know, you never see that any more.”

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How Tiger Woods’ relationship with Vanessa Trump got exposed

By Admin September 25, 2025

THROWBACK: How Tiger Woods’ relationship with Vanessa Trump got exposed: ‘Didn’t exactly love it’

Tiger Woods tried to keep his relationship with Vanessa Trump secret for as long as he could, according to the Daily Mail.

The golf legend hard-launched their relationship Sunday after rumors spread through the Benjamin School in Palm Beach — a private institution where Vanessa’s daughter Kai, 17, and Woods’ son Charlie, 16, and daughter Sam, 17, are enrolled — a member of the golfer’s inner circle said.

“He knew it would be a huge story when it came out and he didn’t exactly love it,” the insider said. “But obviously Tiger dating a Trump is always going to make headlines, which is exactly what he wanted to avoid.”

READ: How Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson feud embarrassed USA and l

The Benjamin School is a private institution with a $38,595 tuition for grades 9-12.

Earlier this month, Woods supported Sam, a captain on the varsity girls soccer team, as the Buccaneers defeated the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, 1-0, to win the Florida 2A FHSAA state championship.

“Benjamin is like a small community and there’s nothing that rich people like to do more than gossip about each other. Frankly, I’m surprised that it was secret for so long,” the source told the Daily Mail.

Woods, 49, and Vanessa, 47, reportedly avoided going out in public together and discussing their relationship with friends in order to keep things private.

“They just quietly did their thing,” the source added. “But Tiger isn’t one to get kissy or handsy in public anyway.”

On Sunday, Woods announced their relationship on social media, including photos of the couple, and asked the public for privacy.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy to all those close to our hearts,” Woods posted across his social channels.

Vanessa also reposted the message on her Instagram Story.

Woods and Vanessa had been the subjects of romance buzz for some time before he confirmed it.

Vanessa and daughter Kai, who committed to the University of Miami’s golf team last summer, supported Woods at various events in recent months, including the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif., on Feb. 16.

The Post confirmed Woods and Vanessa are taking things slow after their friendship blossomed into “something more.”

Vanessa was married to Donald Trump Jr. from 2005-18, and they have five children together.

Woods’ past infidelity scandal with his ex-wife, Swedish model Elin Nordegren, led to their divorce in 2010 after six years of marriage.

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How Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson feud embarrassed USA and l

By Admin September 24, 2025

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson feud embarrassed USA and led to landslide European win

The love-hate rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson fascinated golf fans for decades.

It began way back in 1998, when the pair played a practice round ahead of the Nissan Open at the Valencia Country Club in California.

Woods and Mickelson had agreed to a bet, with the winner taking a $500 prize from the other.

READ: Vanessa Trump and Tiger Woods’ relationship timeline amid rum

On that day, it was the latter who won.

Mickelson celebrated by putting photocopies of his five winning $100 bills into Woods’ locker, accompanied by a note that read: “Just wanted you to know Benji and his friends are very happy in their new home.”

A young Woods was furious, and two of America’s most exciting pros wouldn’t play another practice round together for two decades.

They finally did, 20 years on, at the 2018 Masters.

But long before they reconciled at Augusta, Woods and Mickelson were paired together at the Ryder Cup in 2004.

“I felt like history needed it. I felt like the fans needed it. And, most of all, I felt like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods needed it,” US captain Hal Sutton said of his decision to put the two rivals together.

However, because of their complex relationship, the pairing did not turn out to be the masterstroke that Sutton had hoped.

In fact, it was a spectacular failure..

Ryder Cup pairing backfires on opening day

Despite being the two highest ranked players in the field at the 2004 Ryder Cup, Woods and Mickelson had not been paired together in the previous three editions.

Tiger, who was still the youngest player on the team, had already generated a reputation for being a difficult player to find the right partner for.

Before arriving at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan, he had already teed it up with eight different partners.

Mickelson would be his ninth, and arguably his worst yet.

The pairing lost both of their matches on the Friday, and were first defeated by in the morning fourball, 2&1, by Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington.

But the real trouble came in the afternoon, when Woods and Mickelson were asked to play alternate shot against Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

Alternate shot is a 2v2 matchup in which each team plays one ball, alternating shots between the two players until the ball has been holed.

The problem in 2004? One would need to use a ball that wasn’t particularly suited to their game.

Why did Woods and Mickelson fail in alternate shot match?

“We were told two days before that we were playing together,” Mickelson said of his pairing with Woods, more than a decade on from 2004.

“And that gave us no time to work together and prepare.

“(Woods) found out the year before when we played at the Presidents Cup in 2003 that the golf ball I was playing was not going to work for him.

“He plays a very high-spin ball and I play a very low-spin ball, and we had to come up in two days with a solution.”

Mickelson went on to detail his attempts to practice with Woods’ balls, just days ahead of the Ryder Cup.

“I grabbed a couple dozen of his balls, I went off to the side and tried to learn his golf ball in a four or five-hour session,” he said.

“And it forced me to stop my preparation for the tournament, to stop chipping and stop putting and stop sharpening my game and stop learning the golf course in an effort to crash-course and learn a whole different golf ball that we were going to be playing.

“In the history of my career, I have never ball-tested two days prior to a major. I’ve never done it. It doesn’t allow me to play my best.

“What allows me to play my best is to learn the course, sharpen my touch on the greens, sharpen my chipping out of the rough and ball striking and so forth.

“Instead, I’m taking four or five hours, and I’m out trying to learn another ball to allow us to play our best.

“Had we known a month in advance, we might have been able to make it work. I think we probably would have made it work. But we didn’t know until two days prior.”

When it eventually came around on Friday afternoon, the match went to the 18th hole, where Clarke and Westwood won 1-up.

US embarrassed in big Ryder Cup loss

With what was supposed to be America’s top pair falling, Europe led 6½ -1½ after the opening day, while only Chris DiMarco and Jay Haas won a full point for the home team.

By Saturday afternoon, the gap had widened, and the visitors took an 11-5 lead into the singles, eventually winning the Ryder Cup by a massive 18½ to 9½.

It was the largest winning margin by a European team in the history of the event, and the largest by either side since 1981.

The 18½-9½ loss was also the largest margin of defeat for the US since the competition started in 1927.

All in all, Mickelson went 1-3 at the 2004 Ryder Cup, and Woods was 2-3.

Sutton’s decision to pair the two together was heavily criticized in the aftermath of the event, while Woods and Mickelson were never paired together again.

“I felt like the world of golf would be better off if Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson became friends, and I felt like if they played together, had fun and beat somebody, they would end up being friends,” Sutton said 10 years later.

“They didn’t beat anybody. It couldn’t be their fault. It had to be Hal Sutton’s fault. It had to be.”

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