The expectations from the top names faded within two months of the 2025 schedule. Take the example of Tiger Woods, who set the tone with his last appearance at the PNC Championship 2024. After witnessing a great playoff competition, fans were hopeful of seeing the Big Cat’s comeback in 2025. However, the sudden demise of his mother, Kultida Woods, and his inconsistent performance at the TGL have left room for worry.
The 15-time major winner won his last event in 2020, which was the Zozo Championship. With his struggles still continuing, the golfer could only record one point to his side out of 5 matches at TGL.
Well, on the other side, Phil Mickelson, who struggled with his form too for the past couple of years, is now showing powerful signs of a comeback. The LIV Golfer who won his last major in 2021 is now sharing about getting back to his prime form. Recently, Mike McAllister shared a brief conversation with Mickelson about his performance at the LIV Hong Kong event. The golfer has secured an individual podium finish in third position. The post on X read, “Caught up with Phil after his solo 3rd at Hong Kong – his first individual podium finish in #LIVGolf.” It followed the answers of Phil Mickelson.
He even shared about the redemption, saying, “The fact is, I’m hitting a lot of good shots. I’m playing some good golf. This is a building week as I continue to build into LIV and my goal of accomplishing a win in LIV as well as winning another major and getting ready for Augusta.” The effect of him building back can definitely be seen in his performance. In Hong Kong, he recorded 7 birdies in each round, helping him with a 67-65-64 score to be on the podium. Well, the result might have been different if he had not added 4 bogeys in the first round as he was 4 strokes behind Sergio Garcia, who took the title.
Despite that, the 54-year-old is assuring about his comeback. He further said, “My game is getting sharp. My short game is back. I had a rough couple of years, but my short game’s really sharp now. My iron play’s back. My game is starting to really come around and I’m also playing differently. I’m playing [with] a lot less stress. It’s coming.” The golfer has been struggling with his form after joining LIV, as in 2021, he won the PGA Championship, and the next year, he joined the PIF league. In the past three seasons, he could only manage to get one Top 10 finish each year.
With his recent great finishes, first at Adelaide, where he was placed T23, and now at Hong Kong in third place, can he really get better results than Tiger Woods, who is still struggling with bad form?
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s past year’s performance compared
Even though Tiger Woods has 15 major wins, with his injury struggles, the victory numbers have subsequently dropped. On the other hand, Phil Mickelson has 6 major wins under his belt, but the same struggle has been faced by him. Now, with both golfers having promising results in their last performances, who is on the stronger side?
Mickelson, in 2024, recorded a T43 finish at the Masters and a T60 at the Open, while for the remaining two, he missed the cut. Even for Woods, his Masters 60th place was the best, as he could not make the cut in the remaining three. Even for the past four schedules, the story had a similar output. The best finish Woods could achieve was T37 at the PGA Championship in 2020. However, in 2019, he won his last Masters.
Mickelson is still on the better end, as he has a runner-up finish at the Masters in 2023. Even won his last major in 2021 at the PGA Championship. Factually, looking at the stats, Mickelson has the strong edge over Woods. Notably, he has also been active in the course relatively more than Woods in 2025.
However, the result could only be determined by the performance at Masters. With the countdown already started, the day is not far away. Who, according to you, will be the better performer? Share your picks with us in the comments below.
