Dueling duds, Tiger Vs Phil

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A supercharged duel between the world's two best players ended with a thud Sunday at the Masters, leaving someone else to claim the green jacket. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson fell apart down the stretch as Angel Cabrera won the major in a three-way sudden-death playoff. Here's a look at the pairing between Mickelson and Woods:

The quotes
"We've had some good matches in the past. I've usually been on the wrong end of it."
Mickelson, on beating Woods by one stroke overall Sunday.
"I was pretty much dead from there."
Woods, on his bogey on No. 17 after climbing within a shot of the lead before unleashing two errant drives.
The history
Sunday was the third final-round pairing between Woods and Mickelson. The others:
2001 Masters
Woods went into Sunday with a one-stroke lead over Lefty and wrapped up an unprecedented fourth straight major title -- the Tiger Slam -- with a 68. Mickelson shot 70 and settled for third, three strokes behind.
1997 PGA Championship
Their other final-round pairing in a major saw both shoot a 75 in a tournament won by Davis Love III.

Tiger woods Snubs McIlroy who will be the next Major winner

When Tiger Woods declined to play a practice round with Rory McIlroy this week, his friend Mark O'Meara told the teenager to take it as a compliment.
It meant the world No.1 already regarded the Ulsterman, who watched Woods claim his first Green Jacket on TV in his pyjamas as a seven-year old, as a genuine threat.
The American superstar knows any player whose world ranking is lower than his age has got to be the real deal.
Woods, the winner of 14 Majors, does not like to share tips or banter with players he reckons are his direct competitors. He prefers players past their peak (O'Meara and John Cook) or journeyman pros (Bubba Watson and Sean O'Hair).
Players like Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, who never tee up with Tiger, have almost had their careers defined by losing to arguably the greatest ever player. But before playing his first Major since last June's US Open, Woods acknowledged the biggest danger to his domination will come from the next generation of players like McIlroy, Danny Lee and Ryo Ishikawa, who play without fear.
He admitted: "It's just a matter of time before these guys gain experience in Major championships.
That's something that they have not done yet. Once you start getting a taste of it, start getting a feel for it, it's just a matter of time.
"But you look at their games and they certainly have the talent. It's just a matter of gaining experience."

Tiger widens rankings lead

Tiger Woods was in jeopardy of losing his top spot in the world rankings last week, but a victory Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational strengthened his standing.
Woods was first, followed by Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington.
Vijay Singh was sixth again this week, while Robert Karlsson and Camilo Villegas switched place. Karlsson finished seventh and Villegas came in eighth. Kenny Perry moved up to ninth and Henrik Stenson slipped one to No. 10.
Steve Stricker and Paul Casey remained in 11th and 12th, respectively. Anthony Kim and Lee Westwood each rose one, but Jim Furyk dipped two down to 15th.
Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy, Stewart Cink, Mike Weir and Martin Kaymer all held pat from last week to complete the top 20.
Sean O'Hair, who finished second to Woods last week, jumped 13 places to 28th in the world, his highest career ranking.
03/30 12:22:10 ET

Golf needs Tiger now more than ever

For the majority of players, the PGA Tour will begin its 2009 run today with lots of big banks hurting, almost as many automotive makers hurting and Tiger Woods still plotting his official return from a left-knee surgery that took place when the economy looked reasonably sound last June.
To say major league professional golf is standing on shaky ground is like saying it's fairly difficult to sink a 4-foot downhill putt with a million dollars dangling in the balance.
That folksy Southern guy with the even folksier name -- Boo Weekley -- wasn't just whistling "Dixie" when he said last week that 2009 will be "purdy important" for everyone hoping to make a fancy living off fancy shotmaking.

AP Photo by Danny Moloshok - Tiger Woods is still recovering from major surgery on his left knee. No one knows when he'll be able to compete.

Yep. It's safe to predict that the near future of the circuit will hinge on Woods' ability to come through with a one-man financial bailout performance for his fellow pros.
Woods will not play in this week's Sony Open in Honolulu, and almost no one expects him to be in the field when the PGA Tour returns to the mainland for next week's 50th Bob Hope Classic on four courses in the La Quinta, Calif., area.
If most of the speculation is on target, Woods won't debut until at least mid-to-late-February, possibly as late as the Accenture Match Play Championship, which will end March 1 in Arizona. That would give him a few weeks to properly gauge his durability before the Masters, which will begin April 9.
No one in his right mind would bet against Woods making a reasonably quick recovery and moving back into the dominant position in the sport.
But for many of us, it's easy to forget that Woods turned 33 years old on Dec. 30, and only the most devoted golf fans recall that the reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament last June technically was the second operation on the same knee. There was another, although less extensive, surgery last April.
Whether Woods has chronic left-knee trouble can't be known for a while, but it's not too early for the lords of the tour to start worrying about that possibility. While many of the television contracts have been signed and sealed through the 2011 season, a period of corporate default is upon all of us, even the world's elite golfers.
The emergence of Woods as the sport's ruler was a double-edged sword. On one hand, he came along just as Jack Nicklaus was exiting and brought with him a once unimaginable infusion of advertising and fan involvement.
In the TV era, it all came easy for the PGA. Arnold Palmer and Gary Player created a mania that Nicklaus and Lee Trevino quickly extended and Woods turned into an outright financial mother lode.
But there's been a certain downside to Woods. Unlike Palmer, Player, Trevino and Nicklaus, Woods quickly equated to such a tour windfall that it became easy for also-rans to earn a fortune without winning tournaments on a regular basis.
Trevino summed it up accurately a couple of years ago when he said, "The great thing for the tour is Tiger. The bad thing, though, is going to be no Tiger. What then?"
Any number of candidates have offered periods of hope -- Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia and of late, Padrig Harrington.
But Woods changed the PGA financial formula to the extent that it became almost as lucrative to contend as to win. That's been great for players, but not so great for the future of tour business.
If Woods doesn't come back soon -- and strong -- the future is here for those many players who banked early and often by living on his coattails.

Caulton Tudor - Staff Writer
caulton.tudor@newsoberver.com or 919-829-8946

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