Has the window closed on Tiger vs. Phil at Masters?
Golf being golf, it may be premature to close the book on the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson era at Augusta National, but these are not the most encouraging of days for this iconic pair.
Top 10 a dozen times from 1999 to 2012 -- three of them victories --Mickelson has seen his Masters magic come to a screeching halt. He posted his worst 72-hole finish, T-54, in 2013, and last year missed his first cut since 1997. Lefty is 14 over for his last seven rounds at Augusta, and since his riveting third triumph in 2010, has broken 70 just twice in 14 tries.
Woods? A year ago he missed the Masters pilgrimage for the first time since 1994, and it was only three Aprils ago that he was T-40, his worst 72-hole finish as a pro in the Masters. There’s the incomprehensible drought, the 10-year anniversary of his last Masters victory, and since 2010 when he gave a spirited performance in unsuccessfully chasing Mickelson, Woods has broken 70 just twice in 12 trips.
As for their current form, talk about perplexing.
Mickelson, much as he did in 2013-14, remains in search of consistency, though give him credit for plugging away and trying to play himself into a rhythm.
But Woods? He is a total mystery, and questions abound. Is he physically healthy? Mentally fit? Will he tune up at the Valero Texas Open or Shell Houston Open? Could he even consider contending at Augusta having played just 47 holes of PGA Tour competition since mid-August? Is he even going to tee it up at the Masters?
It is still easy to get caught up in Mickelson’s passion and commitment to the whole Masters experience, whereas the Woods aura has evaporated. But the bigger picture is that it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that neither of these Hall of Famers will win another green jacket. Either man is quite capable of pulling a Jack Nicklaus 1986 (he was 46) or a Gary Player 1978 (he was 42). But did anyone think Arnold Palmer’s last Masters win would be 1964, at the age of 34? Or after the epic Sam Snead vs. Ben Hogan playoff in 1954 that their green-jacket days were over at 41? No and no, yet history shows that they were.
Only eight players have won at least three times at Augusta National, and the fact that six of them factor into arguably the three greatest rivalry eras has helped provide this tournament with a large amount of its flavor. (Note: Of those mentioned below, only Hogan didn’t win at least three times, but he needs to be included because . . . well, because he’s Hogan. Also, the one three-time winner who didn’t get worked into these rivalries was Nick Faldo.)
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1947-54: Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret
They combined to win seven of the eight Masters, including the epic 1954 playoff in which Snead defeated Hogan, 70-71.
Hogan played in only seven of these Masters -- forced to the sidelines in 1949 because of a February accident in which his car was crushed by a bus -- but what quality. He won twice, was top 10 all seven starts and never finished worse than T-7.
Snead won all three of his Masters titles in this time frame and had five top 10s.
Demaret was two years older than Hogan and Snead, and his decline arrived before that of his rivals. Still, the Texan won in ’47 and ’50 to go with his 1940 victory, and there were three top 10s.
Scoring averages for these years: Snead 72.31 for 32 rounds; Hogan 71.32 for 28 rounds; Demaret 73.2 for 30 rounds.
Ages in 1954: Demaret 43, Snead and Hogan 41.
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1958-66: Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus
All told, there are 13 green jackets among these three men, but nowhere did they flex the might of “The Big Three” better than 1958-66, when they won eight of nine Masters.
In fact, starting in 1961, the symbolic passing of the green jacket went this way: Arnold to Gary, Gary to Arnold, Arnold to Jack, Jack to Arnold, Arnold to Jack, then Jack to Jack (in ’66, Nicklaus became the first player to successfully defend at the Masters). It could be argued that it’s the most glorious stretch of time in Augusta National history, with two highlights of note: Palmer’s 1962 playoff victory over Player (and Dow Finsterwald), and in 1965 when Nicklaus won and Palmer and Player were tied for second -- a distant second, yes, but still, they were second.
Palmer was top 10 in all nine starts during this period, four of them victories, and his worst finish was a share of ninth.
Player won just one of his three green jackets during these years, but he was top 10 seven times.
Nicklaus made his Masters debut in 1959 and by 1966, he already had three wins and five top 10s.
Scoring averages: Palmer 70.83 for 36 rounds; Nicklaus 71.6 for 30 rounds; Player 71.79 for 34 rounds.
Ages in 1966: Palmer 36, Player 30, Nicklaus 26.
2001-10: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson
They combined during a 10-year window to win six times and transition the Masters into a more flamboyant, higher-profile era. Still, they never went head-to-head, unlike Snead and Hogan or Palmer and Player.
Woods was top 10 in eight of these years, and was double-digits under par in four of them.
Mickelson finished top 10 in nine of those starts, including three straight third-place finishes that preceded his breakthrough win, in 2004
Scoring averages: Hauntingly, they are exactly the same, 70.475 for 40 rounds, each of them 61 under.
Ages in 2010: Mickelson 39, Woods 34.
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