"I think right now, Tiger is still the best player by a long shot, and Phil is the next-best player by a little bit."

If you're looking for an alternative to Tiger stories, check out Jaime Diaz's profile of Phil Mickelson for the Golf Digest April issue.

Mickelson has bettered Woods the last three times they have played together in the final round. It could be the start of a pattern that mimics Sam Snead, who never supplanted Ben Hogan during Hogan's peak years but used his slightly more explosive game to build a head-to-head edge against The Hawk.

Still, even given all the questions surrounding Woods, Mickelson has a lot of proving to do before most close observers put him in the same class.

"I think right now, Tiger is still the best player by a long shot, and Phil is the next-best player by a little bit," says Fred Couples, who is friends with both men. "The big difference between them is that Tiger is good every single time he plays. Phil, especially after he takes time off, is only good sometimes. And even when he's bad, Tiger finishes seventh, where if Phil's bad, he finishes 40th. But Phil has incredible skills, and he's definitely improved with Butch and Dave Stockton. Phil likes to do other things and spend a lot of time with his family, but if he said to Butch, 'OK, I'm going to do everything it takes,' sure, he's good enough to be No. 1."