The Match is a Thanksgiving weekend experiment that is about golf as pure sports entertainment. This is a broadcast that will look nothing like the weekly stops on the PGA Tour, there are only two players to cover on the course, limiting the challenges of what many consider to be the most difficult sport to produce given that there are 150-plus players and 18 separate fields or arenas.
There are only two players and no commercials. Both Tiger and Phil will wear microphones from range to conclusion.
It’s also a compelling sports entertainment experiment that will look and feel different than any kind of golf we’ve seen, starting with the fact that you’ll have to fork over $20 to pay-per-view.
Mistakes were made and it could have been better in spots, but what you want is a close match and the margin was never more than 1-up. The two see-sawed on the back-nine, with Tiger making two birdies in a row to get his first lead on the 12th hole and then chipping in from off the green at the 17th to stay alive. It prompted a chill-inducing “Just like old times” exclamation as he walked off the hole.
Either Phil nor Tiger played their best golf, the two Hall-of-Famers went 22 holes into the darkness before deciding things. In the end, it was Phil Mickelson knocking in a short birdie putt under the lights to make $9 million.
Scorecard
Hole 1 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars; Phil loses $200k side bet
Hole 2 — Tiger misses a bunny par putt to lose the hole, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 3 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 4 — Tiger and Phil halve with birdies, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 5 — Phil blows a great birdie chance and they halve with pars, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 6 — Tiger and Phil halve with birdies, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 7 — Phil bogeys to lose the hole, All square
Hole 8 — Tiger three-putts on the par-3, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 9 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 10 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 11 — Tiger birdies to win the hole, All square
Hole 12 — Tiger birdies to win the hole, Tiger leads 1-up
Hole 13 — Phil birdies to win the hole, All square
Hole 14 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, All square
Hole 15 — Phil pars to win the hole, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 16 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, Phil leads 1-up
Hole 17 — Tiger chips in for birdie to win hole, All square
Hole 18 — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, All square
Hole 19 (Replay of 18th) — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, All square
Hole 20 (Chip off from 95 yards) — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, All square
Hole 21 (Chip off from 95 yards) — Tiger and Phil halve with pars, All square
Hole 22 (Chip off from 95 yards) — Phil makes birdie, wins 1-up.