What happened at The Match: Tiger vs Phil 2018?
The Match was the idea of Jack Whigham, a Hollywood agent, and film and TV producer Bryan Zuriff. They were inspired by the former PGA Tour's unofficial event, 'The Skins'.
The Match came to the floor in 2018 with the first edition played by the two biggest names on the circuit, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This was touted as one of the biggest exhibition events in golf history.
Initially announced as a pay-per-view, organizers of The Match couldn't continue with it and eventually decided to stream it free to air.
The prize was $9 million with the winner taking it all. The start was the opposite of what the excitement and expectation were about. Both players struggled to even make a putt longer than five feet.
Rickie Fowler described it as a “pillow fight” on Twitter. Woods hadn't played since the Ryder Cup and that was evident in his play.
All 18 holes were played initially, but eventually, the contest was tied and this led to 4 extra holes being played, with Mickelson winning the 22nd. Others were tied.
"A day like today is not going to take anything away from Tiger’s greatness, he’s the greatest of all time, but to have some smack talk for the next few years means a lot to me because I don’t have much on him," Mickelson said after winning the inaugural The Match.
"He always drops the big picture, and it's the trump card. But to have a day like today, I never thought we'd go to this extra hole. My heart just can't take much more of it," Mickelson added (as per CBS report)
Woods said that it was an entertaining match. He said he had few opportunities to make putts but failed to do so.
"I had an opportunity on the last hole to win the match and I hit a bad putt, and then in extra holes… How do you not hit a green with lob wedge twice? So that was an opportunity that went wasted. Phil capitalized on it,” Woods was quoted as saying by Golf Digest.
The Match 2022 Schedule and Update
The seventh edition of The Match will take place on December 10. Tiger Woods will be appearing for the third time in the seven editions of the Capital One-hosted event.
Tiger was beaten by Mickelson in the inaugural edition while he won the next edition of Champions for Charity. Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning was his partner at the event.
Tiger & Rory vs. Jordan & JT
The Match is back on December 10. https://t.co/ga7RxEWTVv
Other sports personalities have appeared in past editions such as NFL stars Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and NBA star Stephen Curry. Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, will be hosting the tournament this time.
Tiger Woods is teaming up with World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and their opponents will be good friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith. For the first time, every participant is a golfer in the team event.