Have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson ever been further apart?
If what happened at the Masters three weeks ago didn't bring the differences in their lives into sharp enough focus, what happened over the last two days at Quail Hollow should have. They are worlds apart right now.
Mickelson is on an emotional and professional high. That doesn't diminish the reality of what his family is facing with his wife, Amy, and mother, Mary, both battling breast cancer. That is at the center of Mickelson's life but he has worked hard -- and understandably -- to keep that out of the public view.
As a golfer, Mickelson just won the Masters and outpouring of emotional goodwill. He is beloved in a way Woods never has been. It's always been a matter of personalities where they're concerned but now it has been magnified.
Mickelson has been sick since he arrived in Charlotte but he's still played himself within two shots of the lead and he's talking like a man who thinks he's going to win. He should.
Woods, meanwhile, looked like a lost soul at Quail Hollow. We can only imagine what's going on in his head these days. I once asked him what it would sound like if we could go inside his head on the course. He answered, "It's quiet."
It can't be quiet right now.
His game is a ragged mess. He couldn't figure out on Thursday which way his shots were going to fly then on Friday, his normally reliable short game betrayed him. He chipped it across the green at No. 7 and almost into a creek. Seven holes later, Woods hit a flop shot across the green and into a pond. One hole later, he four-putted.
Maybe he came back too soon. Maybe he's really bothered by what's happening in his personal life.
Maybe what we saw Thursday and especially Friday was the culmination of all the pressure that has built up on Woods over these past few months. The result was a 79 that could have been worse and a weekend at home.
Woods joked he'll spend his off time watching the tournament "to see how it's done."
What he may see is Mickelson winning another tournament. Wonder how that would feel?