TIGER Woods has paid tribute to the manner in which Phil Mickelson has conducted himself since learning last month that his wife, Amy, was ill with breast cancer.
While the world No 1 knows his rival will be a sentimental favourite with the galleries at Bethpage on Long Island when the US Open starts tomorrow, he also understands how difficult it will be for Mickelson to cope with the outpouring of emotion.
Woods, of course, has an inkling of how it feels to compete when someone close is unwell. Recalling how he dealt with his father Earl's death in 2006, Woods acknowledged it was an even tougher situation for the left-hander.
"Is it easy? No, it's not easy," reflected the defending champion. "When my Dad was sick, that's kind of the natural progression anyway. Your parents are supposed to pass away before you. And God forbid how they get sick or how it ends. But to have a spouse, you're supposed to go together. I couldn't imagine dealing with what he has to deal with on a daily basis. And hats off to how he's handled it because certainly it's so hard to do. Everywhere you go people are reminding you of it, and you can't get away from it. And you think that the golf course would be your escape, but it's not.
"You're surrounded by people wishing you well the entire time and hope everything works out. But then again, they keep reminding you of the same circumstance you're dealing with on a daily basis, and you just can't get away from it. It's hard, and I don't know how they're doing it. But certainly it's difficult."
Although the public perception has long been that Woods and Mickelson are not close, Tiger was heartfelt in his comments about Amy. "And Amy as a person," he added, "she's a sweetheart. She's been just so nice and so generous to everyone she meets.
"And all the years that we've played doubles and table tennis, Elin and myself and Phil and Amy, those are priceless times. Myself and everyone out here hopes that she gets well and she's back out here as soon as she can."
Even without the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Mickelson's return to major competition in New York, Woods knew his Ryder Cup team-mate would enjoy plenty of support on the Black course. He just hopes the energy from the crowds will fuel the challenge from the three-time major winner.
"Yeah, it's going to be loud. You know, hopefully it's one of those things where you try and find energy somewhere, because I can only speak from my experience with my Dad and losing someone close to me. You don't sleep much. It's hard. To find energy from outside the ropes, sometimes that's a great thing."
The full article contains 476 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
