Wednesday 24 February 2016 15:27, UK
Phil Mickelson believes the current 'big four' in world golf would be no match for Tiger Woods in his prime.
Mickelson was the closest rival to Woods at the top of the world rankings for many seasons after the turn of the century, but he was often overshadowed by the all-round brilliance of the 14-time major champion.
The left-hander has plenty of admiration for golf's current 'big four' - Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler - but he hinted that only one of them would be capable of emulating Woods' haul of majors.
Mickelson also doubts that the game could ever match the levels of interest worldwide when Woods was at his dominant best, particularly when he completed the "Tiger Slam" at the 2001 Masters.
In in exclusive interview with Golf.com, Mickelson said: "We have a lot of great young players in the game. And if you look at the top four right now, those four guys are quality - quality people, too. They represent the game well. They're wonderful guys to be around. And they have remarkable games.
"But there is nobody in the game of golf that I have seen that is remotely close to the level of performance Tiger was in his prime. Mentally, short game, or ball striking, I don't think anybody matches him in any of those areas. And Tiger put them all together in one to create a career that is mind-boggling.
"So it's difficult for me to see the game of golf returning to the level that it was at during his heyday without somebody like that. And as great as the young players are, the level that I've seen out of him, especially when you go back to 2000 at the US Open and his performance when he held all four major championships at once, I think we're decades away from anybody getting back to that level."
Mickelson also admitted that he struggled to compete with Woods until turning the tables in 2007, since when he has enjoyed the better record while Woods has battled numerous injuries.
"I played less-than-my-best golf early, up until about 2007, when I played with Tiger. And then I played my best golf from 2007. If you look at the record, I don't know exactly what it says, but he owned me, head to head, until '07, and since then it is flipped.
"There have been a few little nuances and things that I've kind of picked up that have helped me bring out my best golf. But I can't say that I played my best golf throughout my career with him, because that's not the case over the course of my entire career."
And when asked if either Spieth, Day, McIlroy or Fowler had the potential to match Woods' tally of 14 major titles, Mickelson replied: "Possibly one, yes", but he refused to be drawn on his choice.
