Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson enjoyed a superb rivalry at the peak of their stunning careers on the PGA Tour.
Woods remains a PGA Tour player, while Mickelson is now a regular on LIV Golf, representing one of its highest-profile recruits.
Mickelson thinks Woods’ ‘smack talk’ was underrated, which was undoubtedly one of the more playful sides to their rivalry.
It certainly got heated at times on and off the course over the years, but the pair have seemingly been able to clear the air.
Woods thinks he inspired Mickelson among other players, with the latter still going strong on LIV Golf at the age of 55.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images for The MatchWho Tiger Woods really considered his biggest rival ahead of Phil Mickelson
But according to Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams, there was another player who he considered his biggest rival on the course.
Speaking on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Williams commented: “David Duval, unparalleled. He [Tiger] thought that David had what it took to compete week in and week out and challenge him for number one supremacy.
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Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America via Getty Images
“He was the guy who was very short with time. David had that wonderful patch where he got to number one in the world.
“Captured The Open Championship and then he made a drastic change with his body and lost feel with his golf swing and it took him a long time to get it going again. But he was the guy he had the most respect for and thought could challenge him.”
Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson vs David Duval major championship wins
Woods remains sidelined from PGA Tour action, with the 49-year-old having been limited to TGL this season so far.
But thanks to his efforts during the prime of his career, the legendary figure’s tally of 15 major championships will take some beating.
It is Jack Nicklaus who tops the all-time list with 18, with Walter Hagen the only other player in double figures with 11.
Mickelson meanwhile boasts six major championship triumphs, while Duval won his only title at The Open in 2001.
Intriguingly, however, both players could have extended their tallies if not for the presence of fellow American Woods.
He won The Masters in 2001 by two strokes ahead of runner-up Duval, and the 2002 US Open by three strokes ahead of Mickelson.
Interestingly, both Woods and Duval reached the number one spot in the golf world rankings throughout their fantastic careers.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval major championship wins
But that achievement was not enjoyed by Mickelson, who came close at world number two but never made it to the summit.
Woods’ phenomenal success was undoubtedly helped massively by Williams, with the latter enjoying 13 of his 14 major wins alongside the former.