Dave Pelz: 'Phil is not afraid of Tiger – and he wants him back to his best'

Dave Pelz is hardly alone in America in saying: "I wish Tiger Woods had never gotten married." Yet his statement is not born out of any great moral horror, any biblical outrage at the slaughtering of the sanctities. It's simply that Pelz is Phil Mickelson's coach. And he fears the scandal will stop his man from getting a fair fight.

There is some cold logic why the acclaimed short-game guru believes the recently crowned Masters champion might suffer for Tiger's "transgressions". If Mickelson wins the Players Championship, which starts at Sawgrass today, and Woods finishes outside the top five, then golf has a new No1. But then everyone will say that's only because of Woods' five-month absence and the debilitating effect of all those mistresses. "I think Phil would have done it anyway," Pelz tells The Independent. "The end of last year showed it."

Pelz is a stats man, a former Nasa scientist, who bases his theories strictly on the numbers. What he deduced on the run-in to the 2009 season was the upending of what had previously been one of golf's more immutable formulas. Woods did not hold the Indian sign over Mickelson any more, no longer wore that invisible cloak which pinged the bullets of his would-be rival so harmlessly away. And this erosion of aura had nothing whatsoever to do with the destruction of his reputation.

"It's interesting and not many people are acknowledging this," says Pelz. "But before all those Tiger revelations had come out, Phil had beaten him four out of the last five times they had played together in the final grouping. And he did it when winning back-to-back events at the Tour Championship and the WGC in Shanghai. So he is not afraid of Tiger. He wants him to be playing his best. For if he's playing poorly then it doesn't do him any good to beat him. That's what it's all about for Phil. He's ready. He's better than he's ever been."

Woods, however, could just be worse than he's ever been. He has missed cuts before but never so emphatically and with such seeming indifference as he did last week in Charlotte. "I'll be surprised if Tiger plays anywhere near his best this year or even next year," says Pelz. "It's hard to control your emotions when you're fighting your emotions. That's why Phil was finishing 20th to 40th last year after his wife and mother were diagnosed with cancer. It's hard to care about that little white ball if you've got real family problems. I was amazed Tiger played so well at the Masters. But you saw that he did not have his emotions in check. I am afraid that is what's going to get in his way for the months, even years ahead. Phil might just have to wait for the real Tiger to show up again."

Except, when he does, it will still not be as it should. Even if the "rivalry" between Mickelson and Woods does at last live up to the description, it will not be a mere golfing rivalry. The American public won't allow it. "I just wish Tiger had never gotten married," says Pelz. "What Tiger was doing would have been fine with everyone, if he's not married, not having kids and if he's not promoting himself as the family man. There's a lot of athletes who enjoy women; that's their deal, that's OK by me. The problem is I don't want to see Tiger play really well again and then have him cast as the bad guy against Phil, the good guy. I'd like to put two great players together, slugging it out head to head and have it all about the golf. That won't be possible now."

It is difficult to disagree with Pelz. When Mickelson stepped off that 18th green at Augusta last month into the arms of his sick wife and their three children, the contrast was set in treacle. Mission implausible suddenly became Mission Impossible for the Woods PR team. "Yeah, maybe Tiger could stop swearing – that might be nice for the kids," says Pelz. "But to get him to sign autographs and smile and be Phil Mickelson? Come on. He's never going to do that, I don't think it's in him. The fact is Phil loves to interact with the crowd and that makes him so much more fun to watch than Tiger, who kind of scowls at them and scares them back. He should accept he'll never be as popular as Phil."

But there's more than popularity at stake here. There's the title of world's best and, although Pelz is in a tiny minority who believe Mickelson could ever steal that mantle, he is vehement in making the case. "As far as the short game goes he's the best there's ever been," he says. "When he's got his touch there's no one to touch him, including Tiger. He proved that at Augusta. He made up and downs over and over that only a few other players could dream of doing as one-offs.

"And his driving? Phil's never been a straight driver, but I've told him, 'You're one of the best iron players who's ever lived, so there's no reason why you can't drive it consistently'. Since he's started working with Butch [Harmon, his long-game coach] he's hitting it 30 yards longer, and straighter. He's improved so much and if he carries on at this rate he's going to be really hard to be handle."

So what is he talking? Another few majors to top off the quartet already in his locker? After all, Mickelson is 40 next month. "He could get to 10 majors and beyond, I have no doubt," says Pelz. "He could compete at the highest level until he's about 55 if he's in shape – and he's in great shape. People say that, with three out of the last seven Green Jackets, he owns Augusta. Maybe he does. But he has more second places in the US Open. All he has to do is drive it in the fairway two or three times more and he can win at Pebble [Beach] in June. I just pray he does as it will create so much excitement. He finished third at Troon so he can play Open golf. If he can stay out the bunkers, St Andrews should suit. And the last time he played Whistling Straits he needed a birdie down the last to make the play-off, so he can play the USPGA venue."

Is Pelz actually saying a Phil Slam could be on the cards? It seems he is. And although the cynics may claim he is only doing so because his position has come under scrutiny of late, he appears confident enough of continued employment. Pelz has been over in London promoting both his sixth instruction book – Damage Control – and his short-game academy at Killeen Castle just outside Dublin; there are more strings in his bow than purely that of Mickelson's mentor. But it is a role Pelz plainly still enjoys, even though his star pupil has recently gone to Dave Stockton, the former Ryder Cup captain, for putting advice.

"Hey, I love Stockton," says Pelz. "He's not saying anything that I don't believe in. Back of the left hand, getting the blade square, telling the ball the way to go. I'm still working with Phil, same as I have since 2004. It's all working nicely. I'm not saying teachers don't have egos; what I am saying is that the ego of the teachers is held in check for the benefit of the player. We're all trying to be Team Mickelson."

Who knows, Team Tiger may one day look on in envy.