Phil Mickelson: Tiger Woods Played Best Golf in History During His Prime

Tiger Woods may never catch Jack Nicklaus' majors record, but when he was in his prime, no golfer has ever been better.

At least according to Phil Mickelson.

While talking about being paired with Woods at the Players Championship, Lefty had high praise for his rival (starting at the 8:07 mark).

"I don't think anybody today who wasn't there to witness it, and I don't think anybody before, will ever see that level of play again.

"It was the most remarkable golf in the history of the game, and I think unrepeatable. I think it was that good. I look at 2000 as being kind of the benchmark at the U.S. Open and being the greatest golf I've ever witnessed and I believe has ever been played."

Mickelson has put together quite a career. The 47-year-old has 43 PGA Tour victories and five majors on his resume, but it's fair to wonder just how many wins he could have piled up had he not faced Woods in his prime.

Woods' 79 PGA Tour victories and 14 majors rank second all-time.

Lefty himself admitted that playing against one of the greatest players ever was not fun.

"And it sucked to have to play against him. It really did. You look at it and say, 'How am going to going to beat this?' There was a stretch there for a numbers of years that it was so impressive that it was hard to imagine that it was actually happening, that he was hitting some of the shots that he was hitting and playing that well."

It has been more than four years since Woods—who has dealt with back injuries in recent years—had a victory on tour and nearly a decade since he last won a major.

Mickelson and Woods used to be viewed as serious rivals, but it appears they have moved past that as time has gone on. The two even went as far as practicing together at the Masters earlier this year.

Although both golfers may be past their primes, a Woods-Mickelson grouping provides plenty of intrigue for golf fans. All eyes will be on them come Thursday at 1:52 p.m. ET.