Tiger Woods stunned Phil Mickelson into silence with his quick wit during a tense moment at the Masters back in 2001. The pair were battling it out for victory in the final round, having been placed in the same playing group. Woods ultimately claimed the honours for the second time, beating runner-up David Duval by two shots with Mickelson in third place.
An element of psychological warfare between Woods and Mickelson may have influenced the final result. There was a stiff atmosphere between the pair, who had barely said a word to each other all day. When they finally spoke, Woods used the opportunity to get one over his rival with a witty comment.
He recalled what happened during an appearance at Augusta National several years ago, telling the crowd: “I had just made a bogey on 12 and I had a two-shot lead. Phil gets up there [on 13] and just absolutely annihilates his driver.
“Just a high cut right around the corner on 13. I’m thinking I’ve got to bring out this little three-wood I’ve been practicing, so I gave it one of these, a nice sweeping hook. Just like that, right around the corner. It just so happens that I kind of out-drove him.
“He had about a four-iron into the green. I had six-iron into the green. Well, 14 is the same thing, another right-left, and he had another perfect drive. We both made birdie so he still has the honour on the tee.
“He hits another perfect drive, so I said [to myself]: ‘Well, it worked on the last hole, I hope it works here’. So I hit the exact same shot, flew it right around the corner again.
“We’re walking off the tee together. You know, we haven’t said a word to each other all day. We’re both in our own world focusing, trying to win a major championship, and we’re in the final pairing, so this is pretty intense.
“I’m walking with my head down, he kind of comes up next to me and we’ve done that all day. We may walk next to each other and not say anything because we’re in our own little worlds.
“He said: ‘Do you normally hit your three-wood that far?’. I said: ‘No, I usually hit it a little bit further’. I just kept right on walking. The people know me, that is just a typical answer from a smart aleck like myself.”
It seemed to work wonders for Woods, who kept his nerve to secure a historic victory and achieve a career Grand Slam. Mickelson, seemingly unsettled by his rival’s bravado, had to wait another three years to win his first Masters title in 2004.