Phil Mickelson: 10 Reasons He’ll Never Make Us Forget Tiger Woods

In an article in the metro.co.uk, Phil Mickelson came as close to talking trash as we in the public will ever hear.

Well, close, for Phil.

When asked if he was going to oust Tiger from the number one spot at some point and take it over himself, Phil said "It will eventually happen, I believe...I've got to play better golf, though."

That is Phil Mickelson in a nut shell.

An all around good guy who believes in himself and if he does the right thing he will succeed.

Nothing disparaging about his opponents in print, just a man trying to control his own destiny.

But a funny thing happens when you compare some of the reasons these two rivals are so different; the stories don't always fall in line.

Sometimes the "good guy" and the "bad guy" change hats.

10. Tiger Will Never Be an Underdog; Phil Carries The Label Well

Maybe it's their names that work subliminally on us.

You hear Tiger and your mind thinks predator.

And when he is at his best he charges the course as if he were on a hunt.

Where as Phil is the guy everybody likes and cheers for.

Even when he takes crazy shots.

Rick Reilly of ESPN said once in a column that "rooting for Tiger Woods is like rooting for Justin Timberlake to get lucky."

Even now as he suffers through this slump, we expect him to snap out of it.

9. Phil Is The Guy You Want to Have a Beer With; Tiger? Not so Much

Everybody knows a guy named Phil and we usually like him.

He lives a few houses away and keeps his lawn cut.

You can count on Phil to pat you on the back when he sees you.

Good ole Phil.

We don't know too many Tigers.

And the one we see on TV is about business while on the course.

And secrecy off of it.

Sure, we would hang out with Tiger.

But we wouldn't let anyone know about it.

Especially not the wife.

8. Tiger Curses and Gets Angry; Phil Shrugs It Off

We  have seen that look in Tiger's eyes when someone flashes a camera in his face during his shot.

Or if things don't go his way, the potty mouth comes out.

We've even heard other golfers comment on it.

We never hear that about Phil.

And again perception isn't everything, but it means a lot when looking at these two.

7. Phil Is Horrible to Be Around; Tiger Hangs With The Guys. Wait, What?

Apparently things aren't always as they seem.

In a GQ article from a few years back, the athletes were polled as to who among them are the "Ten Most Hated Athletes" by their peers.

Some of the names were not a surprise; Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, AJ Pierzynski, Terrell Owens...

But sitting there right at No. 8? Phil Mickelson.

His peers used words like annoying, fraud, etc.

Keep in mind that the poll was taken anonymously and it is from 2006, so a lot might have changed since them.

But it's interesting to see that what the fans think and peers think are sometimes very different.

Along the same lines, anonymous peers also named Mickelson their second least favorite playing partner a year later in Sports Illustrated.

And from all accounts, Woods hangs out with the guys on tour.

I guess everyone has two sides to them.

6. Phil's Personal Life Seems Open To The Public; Tiger? Well...

Whether the other players love him or not, the mainstream public does.

And he seems to be genuine to them.

There was no better story than Phil winning the Masters and dedicating it to his wife Amy, who is fighting breast cancer.

But because life is often stranger than ficition, there was no way to avoid contrasting it to Tiger's failing marriage and the hundreds of mistresses that kept coming out of the woodwork.

One thing had nothing to do with the other, but the comparisons were unavoidable.

5. Phil Patiently Waits His Turn; Tiger Wants It and Wants It Now

Another big difference between these two future Hall of Famers is how they got to the top. It also reflects how they play.

Tiger's record in Grand slam events when he is leading after three rounds is 14-1.

When he takes the lead he seldom gives it back.

Where as Phil has patiently waited his turn to be no. 1.

He has been the No. 2 player in the world for close to 260 weeks.

That is a record not soon to be broken.

We can relate to Phil, waiting his turn in life.

But Tiger is that guy we want to see on TV.

He grabs the bull by the horns when all is right with him.

And like a young Tyson, we like to watch the bully sometimes.

4. Phil Is a Lefty; Tiger Is Not

This might seem obvious but it plays along with the images we have for both. Ole Lefty is not only Mickelson's nickname, it's a term of endearment.

And lefties are said to be more creative, which Mickelson was quite a bit more of, in his earlier days with some of his shots.

Tiger is a righty, meat and potatoes, constantly coming at you.

Any artistic shots Tiger makes are out of necessity.

3. Tiger Is About Business at All Times; Phil Stops to Sign Autographs

Nowadays, maybe to show that he is a new man, Tiger signs the occasional autograph.

Maybe he always did, but we didn't see it on camera.

But Phil has always been known as a man of the people.

Sometimes people enjoy doing something and others don't.

Not sure if any conclusions can be drawn from it.

2. Tiger Tries to Dominate; Phil Takes Us Through a Roller Coaster

Both Tiger and Jack Nicklaus before him aimed at conquering the course and everybody on it.

Think back at Tiger's most memorable wins, the ones that got the best ratings; they were the ones where he won by double digit shots at times.

The more he demolished the competition, the more we cheered.

Where nothing could be better than to see Phil in a crowded group amongst the leader board and have him fight his and win it at the end.

Phil winning close ones is fun. Tiger winning close ones is okay, I guess.

Tiger killing everything in sight makes us want to eat a steak, raw.

Then go plunder and pillage.

Phil lapping the competition? Boring.

Am I right?

Tiger Is a Global Icon; Phil Is Our Guy

They are tied to each other's legacy.

But they are very different. And neither one can replace the other.

Tiger is known world wide.

Phil might come over and borrow a cup of sugar or a six pack.

He just happens to be able to buy the block.