Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be battling at the Memorial this week for the first time since 2002, and the No. 1 ranking in the world is on the line.
UPDATED: 9:24 p.m.
As is typical for him before a tournament begins, Phil Mickelson spent a fair amount of time accommodating autograph seekers before Wednesday's skins game at the Memorial.
• There's plenty of work awaiting Tiger Woods: Bill Livingston | Tee timesDUBLIN, Ohio -- Before they teed off together Wednesday in a friendly fivesome as part of a pre-tournament Skins Game at the Memorial, Phil Mickelson told Jack Nicklaus that he would love to finally win this tournament.
"I'd dearly love to have you win it," Nicklaus said.
Then Nicklaus told Mickelson what golfing legend Bobby Jones had said about St. Andrews, that a champion's resume wasn't complete until you won there. So, Nicklaus said with a smile, Mickelson's resume won't be complete until he wins this event that Nicklaus created at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Then Mickelson went out and torched the back nine, taking all nine skins and $50,000 in a group that included Nicklaus, Sean O'Hair, Kenny Perry and Ernie Els and playing exactly like a guy ready to claim the Memorial for the first time in 10 attempts.
"He just killed us," Els said. "He played unbelievably."
“It would be cool," Phil Mickelson said about taking over the No. 1 world ranking, "I don’t want to discount it. Right now my goal is to play well here and get ready for the (U.S.) Open.” If Mickelson maintains that level of play over the next four days, beginning when he tees off on No. 10 at 8:04 a.m. Thursday morning, he could also depart as the No. 1 golfer in the world.
Tiger Woods has held that ranking for more than 11 years in his career, and for 260 consecutive weeks since winning the 2005 Masters. Mickelson had the chance to pass Woods in the rankings the last two tournaments and finished 17th The Players Championship and missed the cut at the Colonial last week.
"I played poorly last week," Mickelson said after Wednesday's skins game, but he said he had a great weekend with swing coach Butch Harmon and putting guru Dave Stockton. "Usually it's just little tweaks here and there. I think that's all it was."
Now, according to the complicated world rankings formula, Mickelson needs to win and have Woods probably finish somewhere outside the top five in order to ascend to the top.
Rankings aside, the recent head-to-head competition between a streaking Mickelson and wobbly Woods hasn't been close. In the last five tournaments they both played, two last year and three this year, Mickelson has come out on top each time, winning three and finishing second once.
Asked if it was a coincidence that he often plays his best golf with Woods in the field, Mickelson said, "I don't know, but probably not."
His best Memorial finish is a tie for fourth in 2006, but he has finished the event only four times in the previous 10 years, withdrawing with a wrist injury during the first round in 2007. Woods has been a Memorial regular, but missed it in 2006 after the death of his father and in 2008 while recovering from knee surgery.
As a result, if neither withdraws, they'll attack Muirfield at the same time for the first time since 2002. If Mickelson seems to have his game back, the question becomes whether Woods, coming off a neck injury that forced his withdrawal from The Players Championship on May 9, will find his form.
"He's ready to compete," said Zach Johnson, who played in the other Skins Game fivesome Wednesday with Woods, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. Woods won six skins and Johnson the other three.
"We want our marquee players, especially our best player, to be playing healthy," Johnson said, "and to my eyes it doesn't look like there are any issues."
A year ago, in winning his record fourth Memorial, Woods played what Nicklaus described Wednesday as the best tournament he'd ever seen played at Muirfield Village. It's hard to imagine Woods is ready to play that well again, but even if he is, it might not be enough if Mickelson is right.
"I've been able to win some important events, but this is one of the best tour events we have," Mickelson said. "It's Jack's tournament. I would love to receive the trophy from him. I feel like my game is sharp and I love the golf course."
After witnessing Mickelson up close Wednesday, Nicklaus had little doubt that he could be present for a presentation on the 18th green late Sunday afternoon.
"Those nine holes, he looked like he should be No. 1," Nicklaus said.
Mickelson said of the ranking, "It would be cool, I don't want to discount it. Right now my goal is to play well here and get ready for the Open."
But no one understands better than Nicklaus what it's like to be acknowledged as the best.
"If I were Phil, [the No. 1 ranking] would mean a lot to me," Nicklaus said. "He's been No. 2 for a long time. Of course it means a lot to him."
Presidents Cup to Muirfield: The Presidents Cup was officially announced Wednesday as coming to Muirfield Village from Oct. 3-6, 2013.
Ohio State football is scheduled to host Illinois that Saturday, and OSU president Dr. E. Gordon Gee was asked by Nicklaus whether that game would be played at night to avoid a conflict.
"The event is already moved," Gee said with a grin. "It just happened."
Nicklaus has been a Presidents Cup captain four times in the past but said he can't imagine serving as captain while also serving as host at age 73. He does plan to redo the 16th hole over the next few years before the Presidents Cup.
"[It will] probably be my last involvement in anything significant in the game of golf," Nicklaus said. "So I'm looking forward to it and I hope that you all think it's something that's really going to be very, very special."