Phil Mickelson admitted that he was in no mood to ‘sit and chat’ with Tiger Woods as they warmed up next to each other at The Open. The two players have not always seen eye-to-eye but, for the most part, have behaved amicably with each other during their time in the sport.
Mickelson and Woods engaged in some of golf’s most famous battles during their respective primes, but they are no longer the unstoppable forces they once were. Their relationship in recent years has been virtually non-existent, with tensions flaring when Mickleson joined LIV Golf in 2022.
The 54-year-old was one of the chief recruiters for the breakaway series, while Woods has been an active member of the PGA Tour policy board in opposition to the Saudi threat.
The two players were spotted practicing next to each other before the start of play at The Open in a potentially awkward scenario. Mickelson later revealed that he and Woods greeted each other but did not have a lengthy chat because they were both focused on their preparations.
“We said hi,” explained Mickelson. “Yeah, we said hi, but we were both preparing. It’s not like we’re going to sit there and chat. But we said hello, yeah.”
A potential merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has been widely discussed for some time, but there are no concrete plans to unify the sport as of yet. It has been over a year since the rival entities announced the proposals but with very little progress having been made in the meantime.
Asked if he and Woods could work together to find a breakthrough in talks, Mickelson said: “I don’t know, we’ll see. We’ll see. I don’t know about that stuff, I’m not involved. I’m not sitting in those rooms. I am enjoying where I’m at and what I’m doing and playing. I’ll let other people figure that stuff out.”
Mickelson has struggled to impress at The Open but he made the cut on Friday with a score of five over par. Woods, meanwhile, missed the cut at Royal Troon after finishing his second round at 14 over par but has vowed to return at Royal Portrush next year.
