Mickelson aims for world number one at Sawgrass
PGA Tour | 
Written by BigRed
Woods has been sitting atop the world rankings for 258 consecutive weeks, but will be relegated into second place if Lefty wins this week and Tiger does not finish better than fifth. Phil would be the 14th player since the inception of the official world golf ranking in 1986 to occupy the number one spot. With four majors under his belt Mickelson has surpassed the other great players of his generation (Els, Goosen, Singh, Harrington) but has yet to be recognized as the No. 1 player in the world relative to the rankings.
“It would mean a lot to me”, Mickelson said. He added: “"But for me to accomplish that, I can’t focus on that. I’ve got to go out and get ready to play this golf course because it’s not an easy challenge, and for me to have a chance to achieve No. 1, I’ve got to win. So I’ve got a lot of work ahead."
With the world of golf turning most of its attention at the race for the number one spot between Tiger and Lefty, the starting position for the two stars cannot be more different: While Mickelson has finished 1st and 2nd in his last two starts on the PGA Tour, Woods struggled to a fourth place in his return to competitive golf at the US Masters (his first tournament after his infamous sex scandal) and missed the cut last week for only the sixth time in his career as a professional golfer.
Despite his poor showing at Charlotte and putting several balls into the water during today’s practice round at TPC Sawgrass, no one expects Tiger to surrender his spot without putting up a fight: "I have seen him hit shots that I don’t know if anybody else in the world could ever possibly hit," Mickelson said. "He is an incredible player and talent, and he has one of the most impressive records, if not the most impressive record, in the history of the game. I won’t ever underestimate him.
Tiger Woods has been atop the world ranking for a total of more than 10 years but has already been passed by David Duval (for 15 weeks in 1999) and Vijay Singh (for 32 weeks in 2004): "I’ve had it happen before, Double D and Vijay," Woods said. "I’ve had it happen before, and the whole idea to be No. 1 and to continue being No. 1, you have to win golf tournaments. And I haven’t done that in a while. I haven’t played in a while."
Both players are past champions at The Players Championship with Woods winning in 2001 and Mickelson in 2007 but haven’t had too many Top-10 finishes in the other years. Lefty definitively has momentum coming into the unofficial fifth major of the season and I am certain he will do better than Tiger this year. However, expecting him to win again would be too much ask, so we’ll have to wait at least until the HP Byron Nelson Championship in two weeks for a world number one Phil Mickelson.
May 6th, 2010 at 1:52 am
[...] Mickelson aims for world number one at Sawgrass | Phil Mickelson Homepage [...]
May 6th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
[...] of the most impressive records, if not the most impressive record, in the history of the game,” the American left-hander said. “I won’t ever underestimate [...]
May 17th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Phil,
Keep plugging away. I think this is the year you break through and supplant Tiger as world #1. It’s so refreshing to have an athlete that I can root for that I genuinely respect as a person. I met you in the summer of 1996 at Greyhawk as a high school senior on our annual team golf trip. You didn’t have to take the time to come and say hi and chat with us, but you did while you were warming up on the putting green. The picture and autographed yardage book hang in my office along with a picture of your famous leap of 2004. Your generosity that day made me a fan for life, but watching you play over the last 14 years since has been a real source of joy. I also really enjoyed “Secrets of the Short Game”. Thanks for passing on some of your vast knowledge and experience on the subject. Wishing you nothing but the best, and hopefully you are able to continue to be there for your family and play great golf. Thanks for being the gracious champion that you are.
Trev
July 16th, 2010 at 3:39 am
You people just don’t understand that no-one outside the USA can stand this Mickelson guy - golfers included. He epitomises the worst of Americanism without any of the charm. To suggest taht the British open is going to be “show-down” between Mickelson and Woods is an absolute joke. In ten years’ time he will be forgotten.
August 8th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
phil, i don’t think your golf swing is too long. In fact when you shorten it it doesn’t look natural. All you have to do is start the swing with your arms instead of your legs.Above all don’t shorten your swing. Look what it did to tiger woods. His swing is so short the ball goes in whatever direction his body is leaning upon contact. The only problem with your drives are that your legs are starting the swing instead of your arms. Move your arms first,then move the lower body.I also think that you are still too bent over on putts. It gives your eyes an optical illusion with the ball. You want to be positioned where the ball is right in front of your eyes,not your eyes directly on the ball. Goodluck in the PGA.