Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson Paired Together at 2018 Players Championship

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 03: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson of the United States look on from the 12th tee during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Fans of The Players Championship will get quite a show next week with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler all paired together for the first two rounds at TPC Sawgrass, per Bob Harig of ESPN.

It will be the first time Woods and Mickelson have been paired together since the 2014 PGA Championship, and the first time at the Players since the third round in 2001, when Woods won the tournament.

According to Steve DiMeglio of USA Today, they have played in the same group 32 times with nearly identical scoring averages. Woods' average round is 69.41 to Mickelson's 69.66.

The two are arguably the biggest stars in the sport over the past two decades, winning a combined 19 major championships (with 14 from Woods). However, the rivals haven't always had the best relationship until recently, which was shown when they played a practice round together before the 2018 Masters.

"Our friendship has gotten stronger over the years," Woods said of Mickelson, per Kevin Cunningham of Golf.com. "And I think it's just age as well. We're at the tail end of our careers, we both know that. He's 47, I believe, and I'm 42, and we have had a great 20 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 20s, battling for who is going to be No. 1, and that was then and certainly this is now."

Of course, injuries to Woods and the inconsistent play of Mickelson have caused each to slip down the rankings in recent years. Woods is currently No. 93 in the Official World Golf Ranking, while Mickelson is No. 19.

Fowler, who becomes somewhat of an afterthought in this grouping, is No. 6 in the world. He also won this tournament in 2015, more recently than either of his competitors, though he has never won a major.

Another top pairing announced for the Players includes Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.

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