Somehow, Lefty eclipses Tiger to take spot amon...

In 1954 or '55 (don't remember exactly when), Roger Bannister, of Great Britain broke the four-minute-mile, which smashed the invisible (it can't be done), barrier, and shortly afterward several runner ran the mile in less than four minutes. Tiger Woods took golf to a higher standard, and now many golfers routinely play to, and above, the standard set by Tigar.

Congratulations Phil . . . GREAT tournament.

Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Jack Nicklaus who broke the 4-minute mile in golf.

Woods broke the P.T. Barnum barrier, and, possibly, the Ben Johnson/Mark McGwire barrier.

This is a pretty funny post. I am hoping this was done for comedic effect. Phil is a very good player, and good enough for the Hall of Fame whenever he is eligible, but he will have to win a few more majors before he can be seen as truly great, and a lot more majors before he can be seen as "eclipsing Tiger." There is only one scoreboard on which Lefty has a better career record than Tiger, and it won't be revealed to the public anytime soon.

I'm biased.  I'm a Tiger hater -- he has never been likeable, I'm repelled by (and like to root for underdogs) dominance in any sport, and (wanting to be supportive and forgiving) he has failed miserably to measure up to penitence since his implosion (IE he's still a boorish jerk).  And the greatest joy aside from him simply leaving the game and falling off the media map/circus, is when he plays well and comes up short.  He's already great; time to see lots of 2nd place also rans on his resume.

I could not agree with this more!  The best is when Tiger plays well for three rounds and then gets blasted on a Sunday.  We are in a huge minority though bgtaylor4.  Ratings are huge when Tiger is in contention, but nothing annoys me more than a guy shooting 75 on a Sunday and I still have to watch all his shots.  I could give two shit****s about him at that point and if it was ANYONE else on tour, we see none of their shots (see Ken Duke last Sunday).

I personally would have rather seen Charlie Wi hang on Sunday.  I loved watching YE Yang beat Tiger.  I think Rocco beating Tiger in 2008 would have been a better stroy.  I root for guys that if they win a PGA tour event, it is life changing.  Guys like Charlie Wi or even a Kyle Stanley.  Guys who could really use the exemptions a tour win brings. 

Comparing the two is foolish. Woods is without a doubt the greatest of his era. Possibly only man greater of any era is Nicklaus. Mickleson is a very, very good player; actually outstanding. He is most definitely HOF quality and is most likely the 2nd greatest of his era. Is he better than Player, how does he compare to Palmer, what aobut atson, and lets go further back guys like Hogan and Snead. He is in that mix no question but where he stands in that mix is argumentatie. Woods is not an ambassador for golf but he has done more than anyone since Palmer to keep golf as a world athletic attraction. I can say I have reduced my watching of golf significantly with his 3-4 year slump. He has individually raised the game as a spectator sport. His morals aside he is golf right now. As a human being he is terrible but is he worse than some of our vaunted politicians? Dont think so.

I think the title of this article is misleading.  I don't think Elling is foolish enough to argue that Mickelson has eclipsed Tiger as far as their careers.  I think he meant Phil is continuing in making his own mark in taking down Tiger in this past tournament.

That said, I have always said that as far as raw talent goes, Phil has been and always will be more talented than Tiger Woods.  Tiger's huge edge over Phil has been his mental game.  Had Phil had even half of Tiger's mental toughness earlier in his career he wouldve been double digits in majors by now easy.  Look at Phil's failures to close over the years where Tiger in the same positions did close, that is all focus and good decision making in the clutch, something Phil has gotten wrong more than right. 

Right now however that mental edge Tiger had over Phil and the rest of the field appears to be gone, and it is especially gone with regard to Tiger versus Phil heads up as the last several times they have played against each other in the same group Phil has come out on top.  Now it appears Tiger is more intimidated by Phil and while Phil is completely pumped with adrenaline and focus every time he has to face Woods heads up, Phil is probably the last person Tiger wants to go up against while trying to get back on top.

I love Phil, and hope he wins every Tourney he plays, but trying to compare his career to Tiger's is just stupid.

WOW, I had know idea you knew him so personally and so well to know that he is a "boorish jerk".  AMAZING!

I like Tiger, but I am not here defending him.  I am simply astounded by how many sports fans think they know a sports figure because they see them on TV.  You do not know him.   You know nothing about him other than what is reported.

The best way, in my opinion, to go about it:  Just respect and enjoy what the athlete or golfer or whoever does on the field/ice/court/course etc...  leave the personal stuff out of it because you, as a fan, do not have one single clue who they are as a person.

dcrum, you are not being rational.

Spitting snot on the greein in Dubai.  Cursing at the of his lungs.  Slamming and throwing golf clubs.  His behavior in interviews.  His demeanor during rounds.  None of that is speculation.  Verdict, based on that and nothing else: boorish jerk.  And of course, we we know far more about what a messed up person he is from the news and his TPC Apology Concert or whatever that was supposed to be.

There's a saying that the best way to learn a man's character is to play a round of golf with him.  People who still try to paint Woods as a marvelous human being are simply out of touch with reality.  It was an IMG-created myth, a lie intended to enrich Woods, his management, and, arguably, his sponsors.

The premise of this column is wrong. As I read it, Elling says Lefty's win "solidified" Mickelson's standing as an all-time great. Really? He'd done that a long, long time ago. He's easily one of the 15 greatest golfers ever if he never plays again. And Tiger is No. 2 even if he never wins again. If he finds the late career magic, he may end up beating Nicklaus.

He has been my favorite golf since 1991. He deserves every accolade that is bestowed on him. An all around class act who has made the game of gold better and has served the PGA Tour as well as any player. Well done, Phil.......well done.

Too bad but Mickelson is NEVER going to move ahead of Woods, whether you like Woods or not, and whether Woods ever wins again or not. Thr numbers will always speak for themselves. It's not that Mickelson is so mediocre, for how he is not now the top=ranked golfer in the world, ahead of such nothings as Donald and Westwood, I don't know. But whether or not it was his bad luck to play in Woods' era of dominance, Mickelson still has not taken Woods' place amng golf's greats.

It might be a little true that you don't know people in the public eye as good as you would think. BUT, You do learn a lot about the character of these individuals by the way they carry themselves on and off the Coarse, field, court etc.. And you know just watching Phil that he is a great person. He is always smiling and seems happy. He always has time for his fans. He also dosn't do anything on the coarse that would make you think otherwise. And you never here about any bad things off the coarse like you do with others guys in this game or other sports. He is an awesome golfer and person who appreciats and enjoys the game as well as life. It is easy to see players and movie stars that are punks or are just plain arrogant BUTT'S. Phil is exciting to watch and brings a lot to the game of GOLF. He will go down in the top 10 and maybe better than that when his career is over. Phil is playing some really good golf right now and i do think he has some more majors in him. I also think from this point on he will win more majors than Woods.

some all-time great. never won POY, never won a Vardon, never won a fedex cup, never won the money title. OVERRATED. but yes, worthy of the hall of fame and a greta player. just not as great as Woods.

some more facts: thru 2006, Woods won 12 majors and Lefty won 3. From 2007 thru 2011 (the past 5 yrs), Woods has won 2 majors while Lefty has won 1. And Woods played in only 16 out of the last 20 majors and I believe Phil played in 19 (missed one??). Bottom line, Phi will never catch, let alone eclipse TW in any significant or relevant golf record. And nobody else will either, including McIlroy. Rory MIGHT get to 6-8 majors. He'll probably blow right by Lefty when it's all said and done.

Absolutely ridiculous premise.

I doubt that Phil will "blow" past any of Tigers records.  Phil does not like pancakes.

 Teres rivals Stumpy for the most asinine posts on here. Unadulterated rivel is the term that leaps to mind.

"Spitting snot on the greein in Dubai.  Cursing at the of his lungs.  Slamming and throwing golf clubs.  His behavior in interviews.  His demeanor during rounds."

Just about every golfer I have ever seen curses... and I have heard planty of them curse on the PGA tour.  The difference with Tiger is they have a camera in his face 24/7 and a directional mic to boot.  If they did not want the TVs to pick it up, they should not do it.  Not his problem, or any players for that matter.

Slamming and throwing clubs:  Never saw him do it anymore than any other golfer.

Interviews:  He always seemed fine in interviews to me.  Very vague and not giving much info but what do want?  he gives 10 times more interviews than any otehr golfer, always makes himslef available after a round, and is one of the most famous people in the world.... I would be avery guarded and vague also.

demeanor during rounds:  This I don't get.  He was focused.  Players do it differently.  Phil is all smiles and signs autographs.  Tiger tries to stay completely focused for the round.  I have seen ALOT of players over the years do it both ways or somewhere in between.  I love Nick Faldo... most people thoguht he was a jerk on the course as well.

The point is, these are very minute nitpicky things that make it more obvious than ever:  YOU do not know this person and are in absolutely no position to judge him

Please, please, tell me more about these cursing PGA golfers.  Give us names!

I've spent, estimating, close to 750 hours at PGA events and I can't recall once hearing a player curse.  (That includes a lot of hours following Woods, by the way.)  To state that PGA players commonly curse is fallacious.

Can you name one single time when Jack Nicklaus cursed?

You say Woods is on television more so he is caught cursing quite often.  That's not a logical argument.  By that logic, we'd have cursing by other players when Woods is not in the field.  Have any examples of that?

Look, you have an emotional attachment to the guy, and nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is going to break your emotional bond to him.