Michaux: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson create Sunday Masters vibe with practice round match

Rory McIlroy pretty much summed up the sentiments of the world when he ran into Tiger Woods on the practice range after lunch Tuesday.

“I never thought I would see the day – Tiger and Phil playing a practice round at Augusta,” McIlroy said.

As if this weren’t already the most anticipated Masters Tournament in history, Tuesday’s patrons got an early morning treat when Woods and Phil Mickelson played the back nine together as partners against Fred Couples and Thomas Pieters. Right off the bat this was not your typical tuneup.

“Four, three, one, zero,” Mickelson said, pointing at each player on the 10th tee box and indicating the number of green jackets they each owned before saying to his partner, “You’re up.”

“So we just went right in order,” Mickelson said. “He has four jackets, I have three jackets, Fred, then Thomas. It’s a respect thing.”

The match created a Sunday-afternoon buzz in the early a.m. of a Tuesday. If you didn’t know any better because they were the only group playing on that side of the course, you could have mistaken the massive crowds and the cheers for the back nine on Sunday.

“It was very loud, very fun and they hit some really good shots,” said Couples. “Wow.”

It had been 20 years since Woods and Mickelson last played a practice round together before the Los Angeles Open at Valencia in 1998. Mickelson reportedly took $500 off the young Woods that day and – as he’s prone to doing – gloated a little bit. The personality clash created a rivalry ever since.

This was also a far cry from the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills when captain Hal Sutton paired the two together twice on the first day to disastrous results. There was a palpable distaste for that assignment 14 years ago that played out in a pair of defeats.

This time, however, was by their own choice and born of a growing respect and friendship fused in the team room of recent international matches where Woods has served as vice captain. As Woods told ESPN, their relationship has “softened.”

“We’re at the tail end of our careers, we both know that,” Woods said. “He’s 47, I believe, and I’m 42, and we have had a great 20-year battle. Hopefully we’ll have a few more, but we understand where we are in the game now versus where we were in our early 20s, battling for who is going to be No. 1. That was then, and certainly this is now.”

PHOTOS: Tiger and Phil's Tuesday Practice Round

Now looks pretty good, considering. Pieters had little chance to extend Europe’s reign over the Tiger-Phil tandem. Despite “poor Freddie” getting at least one stroke on the 11th hole that allowed he and Pieters to quickly go 2 up, Woods and Mickelson put on a scoring clinic the rest of the way to the delight of the galleries.

Woods drained a long eagle putt on No. 3 to elicit a roar and added another relative tap-in eagle on the 15th for another.

“Yeah, it seemed like there were a lot of people out there,” Mickelson said. “They seemed pretty excited, and I thought that the two eagles Tiger put on them at 13 and 15 led to some pretty nice roars.”

For his part, Mickelson rolled in birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 to close out the match with a combined five-hole stretch of 7-under to earn what Woods called “an appearance fee.”

“Thomas and I, we got shillelaghed,” Couples said. “We were 2 up after two, and then it didn’t go so well after that. They had two eagles and a lot of birdies, and they enjoyed beating us badly. I felt bad for Thomas. I couldn’t have helped Jack Nicklaus in his prime today. Thomas had a lot on his shoulders.”

Everyone who saw them play Tuesday walked away with an even healthier respect for the quality of golf being played by a 42-year-old with a fused back and a 47-year-old with arthritis. Mickelson won last month in Mexico, and Woods started getting that old familiar look in three Sunday challenges on the Florida swing.

Both are threats this week, though Woods’ return is stealing most of the attention.

“Any time Tiger Woods is healthy and in this sort of form, he’s dangerous at any golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “But given his history here, I think even more so.”

“I fully expect Tiger to be in contention here and I fully expect Tiger to win,” said former PGA champ Paul Azinger. “I wouldn’t have said that in September.”

Having gotten an up-close look at both and paying for it out of his wallet Tuesday, Couples believes that practice-round partnership from two old mates might just morph into competitive hostilities again.

“Tiger and Phil certainly did a lot of things,” Couples said. “I think they may be paired together come Sunday. They’re playing extremely well and they love the course. They’re going to do very, very well.”

Masters Record - Woods

Masters Record - Mickelson