TIGER WOODS proved he really has reinvented himself by ending his long-running feud with old rival Phil Mickelson.
The multiple Major winners have suddenly become best buddies after being the worst of enemies for most of their careers.
They practised together for the first time away from team events at Augusta on Tuesday, high-fiving each other and congratulating themselves as they teamed up to win a side-bet with playing partners Fred Couples and Thomas Pieters.
Woods even poked fun at the full length shirt Mickelson wore, saying: I gave Phil some grief about that. I told him all it needed was a tie.
It as an open secret that Woods and Mickelson hated each others guts when they were thrown together as Ryder Cup partners by Hal Sutton at the 2004 Ryder Cup.
And it was no surprise when the partnership was shelved after they lost their first two matches, never to be revived.
Woods, 42, was even accused of dubbing Mickelson Phoney Phil because of the way he interacted with the galleries, while the 14 time Major winner preferred to stay aloof.
But Woods insisted they had grown closer over the years, with Mickelson showing real concern as Woods tried to return to the game after four back operations.
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Woods commented: When Phil came here to register he saw my caddie, and asked if were free for a game.And so Phil and I talked about it and decided to play today.
"We partnered up against Thomas and poor Freddie.It was a long golf course for Fred, but he had a young stud as his partner.
"But it was good, though, because we ended up with an appearance fee!
We enjoyed it. I think Phil and I have been through it for so long, and we have been together on these Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams long enough to get to know each other better.
And then when I got hurt and I had to take a different role on the teams, being assistant captain and really trying to help out on the side, how best I possibly could, Phil was great.
The he was trying to help me out when I was trying to make a comeback. My body wasn't feeling very good and he reached out and asked how can I help?
Tiger Woods says this year is going to be different as he prepares for The Masters 2018So our friendship has gotten stronger over the years. And we have competed a lot of times coming down the stretch in events.
We were joking today about some of the thoughts that transpired here.
"We have gone through it a long time, the better part of 20 years, and our friendship has certainly gotten a lot better.
I think it's just age as well.We're at the tail end of our careers, we both know that.He's 47, and I'm 42, and we have had a great twenty year battle. Hopefully we'll have a few more.
But we understand where we are in the game now versus where we were in our early twenties, battling for who is going to be No.1. That was then, and certainly this is now.
Four-time Masters champion Woods is playing here for the first time since he finished joint seventh in 2015, and said it is hard to believe his first victory was exactly half a lifetime away.
He tore up the record books as a raw 21-year-old in 1997, winning by a record 12 shot margin .
He added: Of all the tournaments I won, that was by far the most important win of my career.
That was my first Major championship as a professional. In 1997, that was the last year they changed the rule on the PGA Tour, where the winner had a ten year exemption.
The year after it was changed to five years, and you can laugh at it now becausemay sound like I am making too big of a deal of it considering how well I did afterwards.
But knowing I had a guaranteed job for the next ten years was the coolest thing in the world.
So it was a big thing for me to be able to win a Major Championship. And to do it here at Augusta National, with my dad there, and it was just an incredible week and one that I certainly will never ever forget.
Mickelson confirmed he and Woods have become good friends and said he owes his status as a multi-millionaire to his former foe.
Mickelson commented: Nobody respects and appreciates what he's done for the game more - because nobody's benefited from what he's done for the game of golf more than I have. I
I've always had that appreciation and respect for him. To see him back out playing is incredible. We all feel that.
I texted him a while ago when he was playing at Valspar and sauid it felt like it was a different time continuum because I found myself pulling so hard for him!. It was unusual.
I find that I want him to play well, and I'm excited to see him play so well. And he is playing well.
I believe coming together to work together for a common goal of having success in the Ryder Cup has brought us closer together. It started about two and a half, three years ago - I feel the turning point came as we were getting ready for Hazeltine.
We were preparing for that, coming up with game plan, so we were talking almost on a daily basis.
"That that was kind of the impetus where we really started to work well together. There's nothing that brings you closer than working together on a common goal like that.
When he was going through a tough time, I wanted to do whatever I could to help out, because oftentimes that's when people aren't there.
I wanted to do whatever I could during a tough time, not just the good, because I've reaped the rewards during the good times and I'm very appreciative of what he's done for me, my family, the game of golf.
Before he came along, and I remember winning the Tucson Open in 1991, and the entire purse was a million dollars and I used to wonder if we would ever have a first place check of a million dollars.
He comes along and the rate of growth was incredible. We were playing for now almost two million dollars. And we have been playing for a million every week.
I didn't know that would happen in my career, and he's made that happen. - not to mention the increased exposure, bringing golf to the front page, the television ratings, the opportunities off the golf course. He has grown the game of golf.
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