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Is there supposed to be any bad blood between Tiger and Phil? I was looking at an SI.com photo essay on this weeks tournament that gave the impression that these two don't really like each other much. Maybe it is just sensationalism. Anyone know if there has been any sniping between the two of them other than the usual competitive nature?

Maybe it started when Phil insinuated a few years ago that Tiger was using inferior equipment?

Also, I think each has a pretty good competitive streak and ego. Personally, bad blood between two golfing millionaires is pretty humorous and trivial I think.

Arnie and Jack were not buddies in the early years, but there wasn't a 24 hour news cycle back then so the hype machine never got cranked up.

It is interesting how often they both ended up in the same kind of biz opportunities, both learned how to fly their own jets, became prolific designers, etc. With those two I think they just loved to compete with one another, but in a very gracious and gentlemanly way.

That's a different scenario in my book. It was the King versus the future of golf. Phil was the most accomplished and celebrated amateur since the Golden Bear, and while he has had a great career, he hasn't measured up to true greatness. Tiger took amateur achievements to a whole different level, created an unprecedented buzz, and then delivered on the expectations. Phil has never come within a country mile of catching up.

To me Tiger's biggest rival remains history. At various times Duval, Els, Singh, and Mickelson have given it their best shot, and won a major or three along the way, but no one has been able to sustain it the way we saw Player, Trevion, Watson, et al, compete with and beat Jack. Therefore there can be no rivalry until we see Lefty beat Tiger mano en mano.

I tend to agree you completely, but as an interesting side note, didn't they both finish yesterday with a 69? Depending on what happens in the next couple days, this could shape up to be really interesting.

I think it's all media hype. Between the ropes nobody is your friend. They are just a competitor. Tiger's game is to tune everything out and think golf for 5 hours. If he gets all buddy buddy out there on the course, then he's not playing his game. He's playing Phil's game. Outside the ropes, Tiger has his own life and Phil has his. The great thing is they'll throw the occasional one-liner at each other in a media session and laugh about, knowing some journalist just got himself a 1/2 page of print.

they could care less about what eachother does, they worry about themselves

We would all love to see that, eh? FROM ANYONE, but especially from Phil.

Thing is I got the impression watching it on the pipe yesterday that Tiger had a lot better distance control yesterday. He powered out 2-3 birdie putts, and 69 was about the worst score he could shoot considering the way he struck the ball. He often seems content in round 1 to just post a decent number, play a little conservative and avoid any big numbers.

Phil on the other hand seemed to really struggle with his driver. Give him credit for really doing a great job around the greens, but when he said he was hitting the range last night that to me confirmed he is a little concerned with how loose he played. I would not be suprised if we saw some seperation today.

Of course if Smith and Pelz are as good as they would love us to believe, maybe they got his ball position and hands straightened out last night.

Off topic but I was very impressed with the way Ogilvy handled life in the fishbowl yesterday.

You have raised some interesting and probably very valid points.
I especially agree that Tiger tends to always play a somewhat conservative game in the early rounds and then usually gets more aggressive on the last two days. Of course he usually has a pretty decent lead on the field by then and can afford to gamble on a shot by "going for it". That may not be exactly what you were saying, but I put my own slant on it.

I think they're just competitive and that's it. I mean, they at least look like they're trying to be pleasant.

They're both very different from each other. I don't think it's a matter of like or dislike, but they are both fierce competitors and want to beat each other.
I do think that the media tends to perpetuate more than what's actually there and maybe they(Tiger and Phil) play into it some but they probably respect one another - no one said they had to friends.

Earl taught his son to survive in a war. It is day to day. One Target at a time.

Here is one of the photos that got me thinking about this. Hope it works.

And this shot from after the match didn't look as friendly as most pro players appear to be at the end of a round. No smiles or pats on the back here.

Two of the best atletes on the planet going at it on the golf course. Fun to watch. As for bad blood, there is just too much sports coverage today and manufacturing ill feelings is just overreaching. Watch out for the physical confrontations though, someone may use harsh language.

^^^Tiger looks like he is trying to say "Awhh poor baby" with that facial expression, as if Phil is mad at a bad shot, either that or Phil said something about Tiger and Tiger is about to cry.