“It’s always disappointing when the defending champion is not here. We’ll miss him.”
That was Tiger Woods speaking ahead of the 2022 PGA Championship, where Phil Mickelson—the reigning champ—was nowhere to be seen. No title defense. No media frenzy. No Lefty.
For a rivalry that defined an entire era of golf, the silence was deafening.
Tiger didn’t sugarcoat it. He made it clear: Phil’s absence hurt. Not just for fans, but for the players, too.
A Rivalry That Was More Than Just Headlines
You don’t have to be a Tiger loyalist to admit it — watching those two share a tee box always felt like must-see TV. Even when they weren’t going head-to-head, they were playing in the same shadow. For decades, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were the twin pillars of the PGA Tour—sometimes friendly, sometimes frosty, but always compelling.
So when Phil vanished from the biggest stage in 2022 after joining LIV Golf, Tiger didn’t just speak from a place of competition. He spoke like someone who had lost a worthy adversary.
“As we all know, as a professional, we miss him being out here,” he said. “He’s a big draw for the game of golf.”
Respect, Even Through Disagreement
Make no mistake: Tiger has had strong words about the LIV movement. He’s said, flat out, that he disagrees with it. At St. Andrews that same year, he told reporters, “They’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
No hesitation. No holding back.
And yet, when asked about Phil, there’s always a hint of nostalgia. A recognition that, despite the chaos, they share history—and a heavy one at that.
“We’re going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the Tour, and we’ll go from there,” Woods said. The subtext? You can disagree with someone and still miss what they brought to the table.
The Dinner That Never Happened
It wasn’t all warm memories, though.
At the 2022 Open Championship, when the R&A hosted a private dinner for past champions, Mickelson’s name was conspicuously absent from the guest list. And according to reports, it was Tiger who helped keep it that way.
He supposedly rallied other champions and told the R&A that inviting Phil would make things awkward—maybe even derail the night entirely.
That move said a lot. Not just about their personal rift, but about how seriously Tiger took the idea of loyalty to the Tour and the legacy it represented.
A Void That Won’t Be Easily Filled
Since Mickelson’s departure, their interactions have been few and far between. Their last joint appearance came at the 2024 Masters and again at the Open Championship, where both missed the cut. No dramatic pairing, no late-round drama—just two legends slipping past each other in the fog of golf’s new era.
Tiger hasn’t said much publicly about Phil since then. But maybe he doesn’t need to. That early quote still lingers:
“We’ll miss him.”
There’s something telling in the simplicity of that line. No hot takes. No spin. Just a raw admission that something’s changed—and not necessarily for the better.
Different Tours, Same Legacy?
Even now, with Mickelson playing elsewhere and Tiger battling time and injury, their legacies remain intertwined. They’ve played more majors together than most people have played rounds of golf. They’ve shaped each other’s careers—intentionally or not.
And deep down, maybe that’s why Tiger’s words carry so much weight.
You don’t have to agree with someone to miss them. Especially when they’ve been part of your story for that long.
“We’ll miss him.” — Tiger Woods on Phil Mickelson’s absence from the 2022 PGA Championship
