The stars are out this week at TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler one of the featured groups.
Tee times and full pairings have yet to be announced, but Woods and Mickelson will play their first competitive round together since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. This is the 22nd stroke-play event that the two have played at least one round together.
The two rivals, who have had a frosty relationship over the years, had a thawing at The Masters last month. The two played a practice round together at Augusta National, shocking the golf world with their friendliness and candor. Woods and Mickelsen appeared to generally like each other’s company and spoke glowingly about their battles over the previous two decades.
Tiger And Phil Team Up For Tuesday Practice Round At Masters
Woods played his first event since The Masters this past week at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow and finished Sunday’s round without a birdie. It was the 11th birdie-free round of Woods’ career and the first since 2014 at Doral. He shot a final-round 74, his first over-par round in 12 weekend rounds this year. Woods finished tied for 55th, his worst showing this season at an event he played on the weekend. Woods did miss the cut earlier this year at the Genesis Open.
“I hit the ball halfway decent today,”Woods said after. “Hit some good drives that just ended up off the fairway, some landed in the fairway, so I wasn’t disappointed with that. Again, just not putting well and didn’t make a birdie today. I got shut out.”
Tiger: I Am A Walking Miracle
Mickelson, on the other hand, starred at Quail Hollow with a top-5 finish heading to the TPC Sawgrass. Mickelson also had some magic, with a stellar save of par on 18 on Sunday. His ball was next to a rock and managed to get up and down from the creek.
“It was leaning against a rock,” Mickelson told the media. “It was touching a rock, but somehow I was able to get way underneath the ball. It was kind of on such a severe lie, I was able to hit it vertically. So I hit it off the toe and the toe of my wedge is all banged up. Not the sole, but the far end of the toe. I semi played it into the rock to kick it to the right over the pin. So I went up vertically and used the side of the rock to kind of get it to go to the right.”
MIC DROP!
This never looked like a par … but it’s Phil Mickelson.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/kYyYslX98b
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 6, 2018
Jason Day won the Wells Fargo Championship at -12, two shots ahead of Aaron Wise and Nick Watney.
Tour Pro Barely Breaks 90
The PGA Tour will now head to the TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship in Ponte Verda Beach, Florida. The other featured paring released Sunday includes FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
