"I think right now, Tiger is still the best player by a long shot, and Phil is the next-best player by a little bit."

If you're looking for an alternative to Tiger stories, check out Jaime Diaz's profile of Phil Mickelson for the Golf Digest April issue.

Mickelson has bettered Woods the last three times they have played together in the final round. It could be the start of a pattern that mimics Sam Snead, who never supplanted Ben Hogan during Hogan's peak years but used his slightly more explosive game to build a head-to-head edge against The Hawk.

Still, even given all the questions surrounding Woods, Mickelson has a lot of proving to do before most close observers put him in the same class.

"I think right now, Tiger is still the best player by a long shot, and Phil is the next-best player by a little bit," says Fred Couples, who is friends with both men. "The big difference between them is that Tiger is good every single time he plays. Phil, especially after he takes time off, is only good sometimes. And even when he's bad, Tiger finishes seventh, where if Phil's bad, he finishes 40th. But Phil has incredible skills, and he's definitely improved with Butch and Dave Stockton. Phil likes to do other things and spend a lot of time with his family, but if he said to Butch, 'OK, I'm going to do everything it takes,' sure, he's good enough to be No. 1."

Comments

[Jeff L]

I'm still not sure, even with the extra dedication, that he'd have enough to overtake Tiger. Sorry.

[Hitter]

if we're gonna start talking about phil, iam gonna book mark joslyn james.com------

[tlavin]

Phil just seems to lack the maniacal, obsessive will to dominate that Tiger has. I don't think one can manufacture that late in life, so he is who he is: a tremendously talented and magnetic player who is a click or three below Tiger. That's no slam on Phil; it's just a realistic assessment. Not everybody can be Hertz. Phil is probably pretty happy to be Avis. The rest of the tour is just a revolving Enterprise. Okay, that metaphor is tapped out...

[Michael C.]

Amazing how some people have wet dreams of Mickelson being #1. Its like all of those couch handicap players telling us if only .... then they could be on tour, they could be ... Can we just deal with reality here.

[Media driven]

What kind of goofy photoshopped illustration is that accompanying the article? Makes Phil look like a jackass. Embarrassingly bad, not sure what it's trying to suggest? He's now the main event? Looks more like a lounge singer or second-rate Vegas act. No correlation with the story that I can see. The secondary ill's are just as bad continuing a bad concept.

[Tighthead]

Phil's swing strikes me as way too loose to ever let him be consistently dominant. Lots of moving parts.

[Philly Cheese]

It's kinda surprising Mickelson has come close in a few US Opens and won a PGA given how erratic his driving tends to be. He's definitely a streak player who tries to peak for majors, would be surprised if he doesn't grab another one or two in the next couple years. You'd have to rate him then in the second tier of all-timers with Floyd, Trevino, etc. (altho I don't think he's as complete a player as those two, winners of three of the four majors in careers). He may rate there already, but has chance to cement place in history if he can add 2-3 more majors before he finishes. Has 3-4 more years, tops, to do it.