There is little question that the relationship between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson has flourished in recent years, but the pair will not be playing together in the upcoming Ryder Cup matches in Paris, U.S. captain Jim Furyk said on Monday at the CVS Health Charity Classic.
Doesn’t sound like we’ll see Tiger and Phil paired together at the Ryder Cup.
Jim Furyk on @GCMorningDrive: "I wouldn't guess that would be a good idea as a captain."
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) June 25, 2018
As a part of the Ryder Cup Task Force and as the elder statesmen on a progressively younger PGA Tour, Woods and Mickelson have found common ground they never seemingly had in the early parts of their career.
However, during Woods’ most recent comeback, Mickelson and Woods have been effusive in their praise of one another and even played a practice round during the Masters Tournament, leading many to speculate that a repeat of the ill-fated 2004 pairing could be in the offing this fall.
“It worked out so well the first time,” Furyk said sarcastically on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive of the duo’s 0-2 record in the ’04 matches. “I hope they’re both watching because they just fell off the couch laughing. I wouldn’t guess that would be a good idea as a captain, I’m just saying.”
“It was a great decision for Europe!” Colin Montgomerie, another guest on the program, added cheekily.
While a potential pairing of the two generational stars seems to have been shot down, there still is no guarantee that one or either will be on the team via automatic qualifying. As of the Travelers Championship, Woods is currently 39th in Ryder Cup points while Mickelson is just outside the top-8 at 10th place.
Although both would like to make the team as automatic qualifiers, the smart money is on both making the trip to Paris as competitors regardless of how they get on the team.
“(Tiger)hasn’t played as big of a schedule as everybody else, but when he has played, he’s played pretty well,” Furyk said. “Definitely an eye-opener for everyone.”
