Jack Nicklaus did not need statistics or scorecards to explain the rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

One ping-pong table was enough.

Nicklaus has watched many great competitors during his six decades in golf. He knows what a real rivalry looks like. So when he tells a story about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, people listen more carefully.

The story he shared with broadcaster Jimmy Roberts before the 2018 Masters was not about a major championship or a Sunday leaderboard. It happened during the Presidents Cup at a ping pong table inside a cabin, far away from cameras and fans.

Nicklaus remembered riding the team bus when something caught his attention. Woods and Mickelson were sitting next to each other and talking a lot. Nicklaus found it unusual because he had not seen them together much that year. They kept talking for the whole ride until they got off the bus at the cabin.

Inside the cabin, they saw a ping-pong table. Mickelson suggested playing a game. Woods agreed, and just like that, the real competition started.

Tiger won the first game, and then the second. Mickelson was not worried about the score. He pointed to a buffet table behind him and said they should switch sides to see if it made a difference. Woods agreed. Phil then won the third game and quickly asked to play another one.

But Woods stopped it right there. “Phil, two to one,” he said.

He did not play him again for the rest of that week. Nicklaus later said it was friendly and everyone was smiling, but the competition was very real. Everyone in the room understood what it meant.

What Happened Next Said Everything About Them

The score was the main point. Woods was not going to give Mickelson a tie. Not in ping-pong and not in anything else. Even a simple game in a cabin had the same competitive feeling as their battles on a Sunday in a golf tournament.

That competitive instinct started long ago.

In February 1998, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson played a practice round before the Nissan Open at Valencia Country Club in California. They made a $500 bet on the round, which Mickelson won.

After the round, Mickelson copied the five $100 bills and put them in Woods’ locker. In Bob Harig’s book, Tiger and Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry, the note said, “Just wanted you to know Benji and his friends are very happy in their new home.”

Teasing was always part of their rivalry, and Nicklaus understood this well. He remembered the same kind of rivalry when he played with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

“We always wanted to tease the other guy,” he said. With Tiger and Phil, it was the same, but even stronger. Some rivalries are only about talent. This one had something more than that.

What is your favorite moment from the Tiger and Phil rivalry? Tell us in the comments!

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Kalp Thaker