Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily canceled sports, it seemed as though the poor playing conditions at The Medalist Golf Club in Florida would do the same to The Match: Champions for Charity. Instead of letting that be the outcome, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Phil Mickelson, and Tom Brady braved through the pouring rain providing hours of entertainment for a world itching for sports to make a return. This exciting match also raised an astonishing 20 million dollars for COVID-19 relief.
The format for the match was a best-ball on the front nine and a modified alternate shot on the back nine. I am sure that most assumed that the front nine would consist mostly of scores posted by Tiger and Phil. Although this was mostly true for Phil, Tiger had some support as Peyton surprisingly won 2 holes for the pair. Of those two holes, one of them was a birdie of his own on the par 3 fourth. It was interesting to watch Tiger give Peyton detailed advice on his lengthy birdie putt, but obviously, it worked as Peyton sunk his putt to win the hole.
While Peyton was playing stellar golf, Tom on the other hand was struggling and at times looked like he did not want to be out there on the course. Not only was he playing bad, but he was also on the receiving end of a lot of trash-talking from fans, golfers, and even the commentators Charles Barkley and Justin Thomas. It was bad enough that Brooks Koepka pledged $100,000 if Tom made par on any hole on the front nine. Well on hole 7, after hitting it in the hazard and well on his way to at least another bogey, Charles Barkley began to talk trash to Tom about how poor his performance had been and even went as far as to challenge him to golf. I guess the trash talk woke something up in him because it was then that he hit a beautiful shot from over 100 yards that spun back into the hole for a birdie. During all this, he managed to break his microphone and rip his pants. Even with that great shot, Tiger still had a chance at eagle and to win the hole. His eagle putt looked like it was going in, but horseshoed around the entire cup resulting in a birdie as well.
It looked as though Tiger and Peyton would easily take a couple more holes on the back nine with the way Peyton outplayed Tom on the front. Surprisingly, Tom was able to find a much better swing on the back nine and hit some impressive shots including a long putt for eagle on hole 11 after Phil drove the green. Peyton continued to impress through the back nine with shots like the one he had on 16 when both Phil and Brady put their shots within 8 feet, and he stepped up and knocked one to about a foot and a half.
After the front nine, I don’t think anyone would have guessed that Tiger and Peyton would only be one up on Phil and Tom, but there was a chance that Phil and Tom had to tie the match and force a playoff. The ideal shot would have been to have both Tom and Peyton hit the fairway leaving the approach shots to the pros, but both missed the fairway leaving the football stars with the final shots to the green. Brady chunked his and left it short of the green while Peyton put on on the left side of the green opposite of the pin. Tiger, being the clutch golfer he is left his lag putt just inches from the hole to seal the win.
This was a memorable match and hopefully something that they continue to replicate in the future. We were able to get up close and personal with each player having a mic on them and a camera in their cart. We were able to see the playful jabs that they gave each other and the jokes they made. Perhaps they could do this with other celebrities or even other professional golfers. Seeing that they broke the record for the most-watched golf telecast in cable TV history (turner sports), it is something that would likely spark the interest of many and could become a yearly event. Phil Mickelson has even teased that it could be just that, a yearly match between him and Tiger.
With the return of golf on the horizon, we look forward to watching Phil and Tiger compete with the young stars on the PGA. One thing for sure is that Tiger looked like he was ready to not only compete but to win. During the match, he hit every fairway and had great ball control through all 18 holes. All I know is that if he hits every fairway in upcoming tournaments, he will be in contention come Sunday. We should be excited to see what he is going to bring to the golf course this year as the tournaments begin to start up again.
