For over two decades, their battles defined an era. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods traded major championships, heated words, and icy stares across fairways from Augusta to Pebble Beach. The world watched as these two titans transformed golf into appointment television, their rivalry crackling with tension that sold millions in merchandise and drew record audiences. Every head-to-head matchup felt like a prizefight—Phil’s fearless aggression clashing against Tiger’s surgical precision, two alpha competitors who rarely exchanged pleasantries beyond forced handshakes.

But Saturday morning brought a different kind of moment. When Tiger announced his seventh back surgery—a lumbar disc replacement at L4/L5 performed Friday at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery—Phil’s response on X

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