Phil Mickelson had barely finished signing his scorecard for an opening 2 under par round of 70 when Robert Allenby questioned his integrity.

Mickelson is using a Ping Eye 2 wedge at the Farmers Insurance Open which is allowed under an old court decision, but many players believe goes against the spirit of new rules which prohibit grooves that allow more control of shots.

“I just believe that even if they are legal, you still shouldn’t be using them,” said Allenby. “Just because someone has a couple sitting in their garage somewhere or they’ve got them off eBay or whatever, I just don’t think that’s the integrity of the game.”

“I think ‘cheating’ is not the right word to use, but it’s definitely an advantage.”

When told that Mickelson was one of the handful of players including Hunter Mahan, John Daly and Dean Wilson who have put the 20 year old wedge in their bags, Allenby appeared stunned.

“Oh, he’s using one this week? Well, I have no comment there. I’ll be a good boy,” said the Australian.

A day earlier Mickelson (who’s been critical of golf’s decision to roll back grooves, saying it unnecessarily cost manufacturers millions of dollars) defended his use of the Ping club, which he said he had in his garage from his college days in Arizona, where Ping is based.

“I feel like the Eye-2 grooves are not legal, or don’t conform, but they are approved for play,” Mickelson said Wednesday.

Well Tiger now has company in the realm of cheating but at least no one got beat up, no cars were damaged and no cell phone records were released in this situation.