Golf greats Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are slated to compete at the U.S. Open in June, but tipsters say the bitter rivals, who’ve been teed off at each other for decades, are already ramping up their trash-talking ways!
“They really loathe one another, and the jibes have gotten more mean-spirited with every passing year,” spills an insider.
“The irony is they’ve both been branded as cheats in the past. With Phil, it was golf — with Tiger it was golf and women.”
At the 2018 U.S. Open, Mickelson, 51, was slammed for putting a rolling ball, a clear violation. But he later shrugged off the notorious no-no by saying, “I took the two-shot penalty and moved on. It’s my understanding of the rules.”
“I’ve had multiple times where I’ve wanted to do that. I just finally did.”
Woods has also been accused of being cavalier with tournament rules — and his wedding vows!
The links legend’s career took a major nosedive after The National ENQUIRER exposed his infidelity in 2009 and his serial skirt-chasing cost him his marriage to beauty Elin Nordegren.
The recovering sex addict also completed a rehab stint to kick prescription painkillers and pleaded guilty to reckless driving in 2017 after a humiliating DUI arrest!
But Woods, 46, got back into the swing of things with his fifth Masters victory in 2019 — before being stymied by a shattered leg caused by his California car wreck in 2021.
While the gimpy golfer is launching another comeback, the insider dishes, “Phil scoffs at Tiger trying to be the king of the fairway again.”
