Phil, Tiger and the battle that never was

By Gerard Gallagher, Sports Network | The Sports Network • Published November 09, 2009

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Tiger Woods pulled one hand off the driver during his follow through and yanked the club over his shoulder, flailing and twisting and shouting as his ball landed like a fried egg in the sand trap.

"Come on!" Woods screamed to a person standing beyond the No. 7 tee box at Sheshan International Golf Club. Spectators craned their necks to see who the shutter-bug was who had snapped a picture during Woods' back swing.

The No. 1 golfer in the world also cursed at the spectator, although it was one of the tamer phrases in his blue arsenal. Woods then scowled as he walked down the fairway, a solid mass of disgruntlement.

It was a familiar scene, and we might as well have changed the channel then and there.

The final round of the HSBC Champions figured to be a classic. It was the first time in four seasons -- and only the second time in seven -- that Woods and Phil Mickelson played together in the final group. The last time came at Doral in 2005, when Woods overcame a two-shot deficit to Mickelson to win the tournament and re-gain his No. 1 world ranking.

If that round is famous for its drama, then this round shall be infamous for its drudgery.

The duel that was supposed to happen between the top-ranked golfers in the world fizzed by the fourth hole, when Woods made a double-bogey five. His offline drive at No. 7 -- where he was trying to reach the green at a par-four -- led to a second bogey in two holes when it took him three more shots to get on the green.

By the time their threesome reached the turn -- Nick Watney was also along for the ride -- Mickelson had extended his two-shot lead over Woods to five. He did it by going just even-par on the front nine.

While Mickelson battled to hold onto his lead, Woods spun out of control.

We've seen this Tiger before -- frustrated by a large crowd, distracted by cameras, uncomfortable. When he throws out a stinker like that in the final group of a tournament, wearing his familiar red shirt and black pants, it's like reaching into a grab bag full of diamonds and pulling out a piece of lint.

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