Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have dominated the pro-golf conversion for the better part of the last decade. There have been many rumors and reports of their alleged personal rivalry.

Most notably, Alan Shipnuck wrote that Woods was behind Lefty’s British Open Dinner snub. But Daniel Berger, who has seen them up close, feels they get off quite well despite whatever impression their on-course rivalry gives off.

Tiger Woods was the assistant captain at the 2017 President’s Cup, where Phil Mickelson was Berger’s teammate. That also gave him the chance to witness two of the top players up close. Berger feels “they’re totally fine together.” In fact, the 30-year-old recounted a time when Mickelson and Woods went head-to-head in a game where both floundered.

When Woods and Mickelson clashed in a ping-pong match

Berger recounted that the two hit it off quite early at Liberty National. When the two veterans went on to play ping pong, Mickelson, in his characteristic swagger, started the conversation. Berger said, “Phil, I feel like he thinks he’s the best at everything he does. And like he’ll, we play ping pong. And he was talking about how he’s like taken like, hours and hours of lessons and like, you know, he’s this like world-class ping pong player.”

Whereas Tiger Woods was rather quiet. Not that; he hasn’t played before. Berger added, “They were going at it one-on-one. And it was just funny to watch these guys.” Apparently, neither Lefty nor Mr. T could cut the mustard, as Berger revealed.

The four-time PGA Tour winner, who recently made a comeback after an injury-ridden hiatus, told the No Laying Up host, “They’re both terrible at ping pong, but they’re ultra-competitive, and just to watch them be bad at something and still want to win so badly, I just was laughing the whole time.” Berger, unfortunately, didn’t reveal the result of the match.

Ironically, that laughter left Berger when he went to tee up in the Liberty National. In fact, the then-23-year-old PGA Tour pro didn’t want to play in front of Woods when the time came.

Why Berger didn’t want Tiger Woods to tag him 

Another of Berger’s teammates, Justin Thomas, recounted a funny incident regarding Berger and the 15-time Major Champion earlier. Woods was assigned to lead Berer’s group at Liberty National. Berger, however, didn’t want him on his side. Thomas recalled later, “I don’t know if he was paired with Brooks [Koepka] or someone, but [Berger] went to—I don’t know if it was Freddie or someone—and said, ‘Tiger can’t come with our group,’” Thomas told Golf.com.

“So when we thought we had him [Tiger Woods] to use to our advantage, to make the other team nervous, that actually made some of our own team members nervous. So there’s that.” Berger, though, would go on to nail the winning stroke of the match by defeating Si Woo Kim 2&1. Naturally, the 2017 Presidents Cup was memorable for him for more than one reason.

Charlie Woods or John Daly II: Which Young Talent Will Live Up to Their Father’s Legacy?

The community could find stories of rivalries between many golfers over the years of the sport. However, only a few have truly left the golf world in awe. Well, once upon a time, the headlines of the golfing world were filled with stories surrounding Tiger Woods and his rival John Daly. However, those days are slowly fading away.

Now, enter 2024. The two veterans of the sport have heirs of their own, namely Charlie Woods and John Daly II. But even so, the competition between the two professionals seems to have not ended but instead been passed down to the two young golfers, who each strive to follow in their father’s footsteps.

Woods Jr. or Daly II, who has the better numbers?

Over the past several years, the two young athletes, especially Mr. T’s son, have managed to turn many heads in the community. But even so, curiosity naturally arises as to who has made it further in the gentleman’s game. Well, to do that, we need to take a look at the numbers that the two athletes boast so that we can get a clear picture.

USA Today via Reuters

In terms of handicap, the younger of the two, i.e., the 15-year-old Charlie Woods, is reportedly considered to have a handicap of +3. But the son of the senior pro had a reported handicap score of 5 back in 2016 and has been playing the game since when he was 10 years old. What’s more, he has been ranked as high as 27th in 2021 on the Rolex AJGA, while his counterpart hasn’t been ranked at all.

The 20-year-old Daly II is placed 533rd on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Meanwhile, the son of the 15-time major champ is not ranked at all in the standings but is only set to make his debut as an amateur soon at North Carolina in March 2024. Nevertheless, the latter has managed to portray his remarkable skills many times on the golf course.

A game of wins between the two youngsters

The Woods family teamed up for the first time in 2020 at the PNC Championship and has been competing every year since then. On the other hand, the Daly duo has played a total of seven times in the same event, winning once in the 2021 edition and coming in second the following year.

The 82-time PGA Tour pro and his son have played the same a total of four times, out of which they have finished T7 in 2020, T2 in 2021, T8 in 2022, and T5 in 2023. Meanwhile, the other two golfers have finished T8 in 2016, T9 in 2017, T2 in 2018, T5 in 2019, T8 in 2020, and T5 in 2023. But these are just one of the many accolades that the two youngsters have raked in, and that too with their parents.

Aside from this, what else do the two golfers have on their records? Well, Woods Jr. was able to help his Benjamin School team clinch the win at the Florida High School State Championship. Moreover, he emerged victorious at the Major Championship held at Village Golf Course in Florida and also won the Last Chance Florida Regional (Boys), which helped him qualify for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship.

Turning to Daly II, he won the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll during the 2021–22 season and was also named 2021 second-team Rolex Junior All-American. What’s more, he won the Sung Hyun Park Junior Championship, tied for second at the AJGA Junior Championship benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation, and finished T2 at the 2020 Dye Junior Golf Invitational, along with a third place at the Florida State Amateur. These are but some of the stats that the 2-time major champion’s son boasts. But even so, the path to a professional career seems far away for both golfers.

The long road to turning professional

Although the senior athlete’s son is already past the age when he can become a professional, he has not taken the big step till now. Meanwhile, Charlie Woods is well below the age when one can do the same. Moreover, he is gearing up to make his debut as an amateur and, therefore, has a long road ahead of him if he is to make the choice.

The 15-year-old, as per reports that came out a while back, is apparently ready to play at the AJGA event, the Will Lowery Junior Championship, in Sanford. This would, undoubtedly, put a stop to those in the community who were left divided in opinion after his participation at the pre-qualifier in the Cognizant Classic.

Now, as per the records, it seems as if John Daly II has a higher probability of one-upping the legend’s son. However, there are various factors at play here, including one of them not being an amateur yet, the age gap, and the fact that they haven’t properly faced off against each other. Well, only time will tell which of the two has made it to the top and met their father’s expectations. One can only wait and watch!