Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson often bring out the best in each other’s games. Just don’t expect any friendly conversations when golf ’s greatest running rivalry resumes at the U.S. Open.

Luckily, there’s a guy in their group with a pink driver and a green jacket to lighten the mood.

Woods and Mickelson will play with Masters champion Bubba Watson for the first two rounds beginning Thursday at The Olympic Club. It will be the first time Woods and Mickelson have been paired in the championship since Torrey Pines in 2008, when the USGA grouped players off the world ranking.

In typical fashion, Woods brushed off any notion that his playing partners will affect how he plays. Mickelson, meanwhile, couldn’t stop gushing just thinking about all those giddy fans and camera clicks that will surround the ninth hole when he, Watson and the 14-time major champion tee off just after dawn.

Leave it to one of golf ’s grandest stages to bring such contrasting personalities together.

“It’s fabulous,” Mickelson said. “First of all, I get excited to play with Tiger, I love it. I think we all do. He gets the best out of me. I think when it’s time to tee off on Thursday I’ll be ready to play.”

And Woods?

“I don’t think we’re going to talk about a lot,” he said. “This is a major championship. We’ve got work to do. Any extra motivation? No. I’m just trying to get out there and position myself for Sunday.”

And so the chase begins.

Again.

The pair last played together about a two-hour drive down the California coast at Pebble Beach, where Mickelson whipped Woods and rallied to win in February. In the majors, Mickelson topped him in the final round of the 2009 Masters won by Angel Cabrera, though Woods beat him soundly at Torrey Pines on his way to winning the U.S. Open.

Mickelson has been on the wrong side of history at this tournament.

A record five-time runnerup for the national championship, Mickelson has had more painful, exhausting — and perhaps embarrassing — moments taking on “golf ’s toughest test” than maybe any player with his resume.

Chief among them: Mickelson entered the 18th at Winged Foot in 2006 with a one-shot lead. After a tee shot into the merchandise tents left him a decent lie, he tried to carve a 3-iron around the tree, didn’t pull it off and made double bogey to finish one shot behind.

“What an idiot I am,” he famously said afterward.

Mickelson is embracing his latest chance to end the drought against his longtime rival.

The only real hiccups in his game that he would disclose is feeling “mentally lethargic” in the first two rounds of PGA Tour events. With Woods staring at his every shot, he has promised that won’t happen at the start of the 112th U.S. Open.

Perhaps playing with Woods can cure whatever ails him.

“The one player I’m most concerned about if I play my best golf that may have a chance to beat me is Tiger,” he said. “And the fact that we are on the same wavelength, I’m always in favor of. Sometimes we’ll get a huge advantage in tee times, based on weather conditions or whatnot. If we’re in the same wavelength, neither of us will have a distinct advantage.”

Whatever pressure Mickelson faces is overshadowed by that of his counterpart.

Woods is still the most accomplished — and watched — golfer of his generation. His mastery at Muirfield Village two weeks ago — the 73rd victory of his PGA Tour career — makes him the betting favorite at Olympic Club to get his 15th major, first since the 2008 U.S. Open, and resume his quest of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18.

Then again, Woods’ win at Bay Hill made him the pretournament rage at the Masters.

He ended up in a tie for 40th, kicking his clubs and cussing all over Augusta National.

One can only imagine what the tight, twisting fairways on the unleveled Lake Course could bring out of him this week.

“It’s such a test playing in this championship,” Woods said. “I think this is one of those championships that I think the guys talk the least to one another because it’s so difficult.”

At least one guy won’t be quiet.

Watson enters the group as perhaps the most overlooked Masters champion at the U.S. Open in recent history. The shot-shaping master, not an immediate fan of Olympic Club’s tree-lined fairways and tiny greens, will have a frontrow look when all the action begins — and he’s more than excited about the pressure not being on him.

Together, his playing partners have 113 PGA Tour victories and 18 majors.

“It’s going to be like Sunday at the Masters,” Watson said. “Huge galleries … two legends.”

One U.S. Open at stake.

2012 U.S. Open field

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The 151 players who have qualified for the
112th U.S. Open, to be played June 14-17 at The Olympic Club
(players listed only in the first category for which they are eligible. aamateur). Five spots remain available from the world ranking or alternate list.
U.S. Open champions (10 years): Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell,
Lucas Glover, Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera, Geoff Ogilvy, Michael
Campbell, Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk.
U.S. Amateur champion and runner-up: a-Patrick Cantlay.
Masters champions (5 years): Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel,
Phil Mickelson, Trevor Immelman.
British Open champions (5 years): Louis Oosthuizen, Stewart Cink,
Padraig Harrington.
PGA champions (5 years): Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer, Y.E.
Yang.
Players Championship winner (3 years): Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi,
Tim Clark.
BMW PGA Championship winner: Luke Donald.
U.S. Senior Open champion: Olin Browne.
Top 10 and ties from 2011 U.S. Open: Jason Day, Kevin Chappell,
Robert Garrigus, Lee Westwood, Peter Hanson, Sergio Garcia.
2011 Tour Championship field: Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, Dustin
Johnson, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Chez Reavie,
John Senden, Aaron Baddeley, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland, Steve
Stricker, Charles Howell III, David Toms, Mark Wilson, Bo Van Pelt,
Jason Dufner, Jonathan Byrd, Vijay Singh, Fredrik Jacobson.
Top 60 from the world ranking on May 21: Rickie Fowler, Zach

Johnson, Ian Poulter, Martin Laird, Nicolas Colsaerts, Francesco
Molinari, Carl Pettersson, Thomas Bjorn, Bae Sang-moon, Alvaro
Quiros, Simon Dyson, Ernie Els, Robert Karlsson, Anders Hansen,
Kevin Na, Ben Crane, Kyle Stanley, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, K.T.
Kim, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Robert Rock, Ryo Ishikawa, Miguel Angel
Jimenez.
Sectional qualifying (36 holes): Brendan Jones, Toru Taniguchi,
J.B. Park, Hiroyuki Fujita, Dong-Hwan Lee, Tadahiro Takayama, Alex
Noren, Marc Warren, Gregory Bourdy, Raphael Jacquelin, Lee Slattery, Matthew Baldwin, Matteo Manassero, Soren Kjeldsen, Mikko
Ilonen, George Coetzee, Peter Lawrie, Anthony Summers, Tim Herron, Shane Bertsch, Michael Thompson, Will Claxton, Darron Stiles,
a-Brooks Koepka, a-Andy Zhang, Jason Bohn, Casey Wittenberg,
Bob Estes, Alistair Presnell, a-Jordan Spieth, Charlie Wi, Blake
Adams, Kevin Streelman, Brian Harman, D.A. Points, David Mathis,
Davis Love III, Steve Marino, Edward Loar, Rod Pampling, Martin
Flores, Scott Piercy, Morgan Hoffmann, Alex Cejka, Michael Allen,
Matt Bettencourt, Tommy Biershenk, Aaron Watkins, Joe Ogilvie,
Joe Durant, Stephen Ames, Bill Lunde, Hunter Haas, Robert Castro.
Local (18 holes) and sectional qualifying: a-Cameron Wilson, Jim
Herman, Brian Gaffney, Mark McCormick, Brice Garnett, John Peterson, Cole Howard, Nicholas Thompson, Jeff Curl, Scott Langley,
Samuel Osborne, Tim Weinhart, Brian Rowell, Jesse Mueller, Steve
Lebrun, Dennis Miller, James Hahn, a-Beau Hossler, Scott Smith, a-
Alberto Sanchez, Casey Martin, a-Nick Sherwood, a-Hunter Hamrick.