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The Match (golf)

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The Match
GenreSport
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes11
Production
Production locationsLas Vegas, Nevada
Hobe Sound, Florida
Oro Valley, Arizona
Big Sky, Montana
Running time4 hours
Original release
NetworkTNT Sports
ReleaseNovember 23, 2018 (2018-11-23) –
present

The Match is a series of exhibition match play golf challenge matches that began in 2018. The event features major professional golfers or other notable athletes facing each other in a head-to-head competition. The format has varied throughout the run of the event; in all of the events, sports entertainment elements were included, particularly with the inclusion of sports betting elements in that the contestants wager portions of their prize on side bets during the contest. TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports) has televised all eight iterations of the event. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, alternating between contests involving professional golfers (usually in November or December, outside the PGA Tour season) and contests involving celebrity athletes from other sports, with or without golf professionals; one of the two contests is traditionally held on the weekend before or after Thanksgiving.

Background

[edit]

Jack Whigham, a Hollywood agent, and Bryan Zuriff, a film and TV producer, conceived the event. Zuriff was a fan of The Skins Game—a former PGA Tour unofficial event that was held around Thanksgiving weekend—and envisioned a concept for a golf event that would, as explained by Whigham, be "played the way a lot of us play with our buddies on the weekends? You know, where you bet on everything and talk smack and basically have this continually running dialogue of giving each other (grief.)"[1]

Mark Steinberg, an agent who represented Tiger Woods (who competed in the first two events), contrasted the event with Monday Night Golf—a series of primetime, network television events largely intended to be a vehicle for Woods at the height of his popularity—stating that it would feature both sports and entertainment elements and not be focused purely on competitive aspects.[1] The event would be jointly-owned by Woods and Phil Mickelson (an associate of Zuriff's and a competitor in the first four entries), but the entity still had to pay a rights fee to the PGA Tour—which would impose some restrictions and conditions on the presentation and format of the event.[1]

Event details

[edit]

Tiger vs. Phil

[edit]
Main article: The Match: Tiger vs. Phil

The first edition, titled The Match: Tiger vs. Phil, was played on November 23, 2018, between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The purse for the event was $9 million, with the winner taking the entire amount. Mickelson won the match after 22 holes, including four playoff holes. The event was marketed as a pay per view by Turner Sports via Bleacher Report Live, but technical issues with the over-the-top distribution of the PPV forced the event to instead be streamed for free; Turner and other providers subsequently offered refunds.

Champions for Charity

[edit]

A rematch, The Match: Champions for Charity, was played on May 24, 2020, at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. It featured a pro-am four-ball format with each golfer having a National Football League quarterback as his partner: Woods was paired with two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, and Mickelson with then six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady.[2] Woods and Manning held off a late comeback from Mickelson and Brady to win by a single hole.[3]

The match was broadcast live on TNT, TBS, HLN and truTV, drawing an average 2.8 million viewers, due in part to the fact that it was one of the first nationally televised live sports events to take place after sports worldwide were shut down in March.[4] Brian Anderson was the host of the event, Trevor Immelman and Charles Barkley served as analysts, and Justin Thomas and Amanda Balionis were on-course reporters.[5]

Champions for Change

[edit]

A third edition, titled The Match: Champions For Change, took place on November 27, 2020, at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Arizona. The match, benefitting historically black colleges and universities, was played using an American foursomes format.[6] Mickelson partnered NBA hall-of-famer Charles Barkley, who played from a forward set of tees, to defeat Manning and NBA star Stephen Curry, 4 and 3.[7][8]

The event was broadcast live on TNT, earning an average 1.0 million viewers.[9] Anderson and Immelman returned as host and analyst, respectively, alongside NBA star Andre Iguodala, who was also an analyst. Gary McCord and Cheyenne Woods served as on-course reporters. Additionally, a "Cart Cam" stream was made available for the event exclusively through Bleacher Report with host Taylor Rooks and on-course correspondent Eli Manning.[10]

The Match IV

[edit]

A fourth edition of The Match took place on July 6, 2021. Mickelson and Brady competed against Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana.[11] There was a slight change to the format, with greensomes replacing the American foursomes format used in the previous edition.[12] DeChambeau and Rodgers won the match 3 and 2.[13]

The fourth iteration of The Match was broadcast live on TNT, TBS, and truTV on July 6, 2021. Anderson, Barkley, and Immelman all returned as host and analysts, respectively, alongside NFL star Larry Fitzgerald, who made his debut on The Match an analyst. Cheyenne Woods returned as on-course reporter. Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight also made his debut on The Match as the pre-match host, alongside Barkley, Fitzgerald, and Immelman.

Bryson vs. Brooks

[edit]

A fifth edition took place between DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka on November 26, 2021, at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas. The match was a result of an ongoing "feud" between the two players. The format for the fifth version of the match returned to the original format of Tiger vs. Phil, with the length of the match reduced to 12 holes. It was again broadcast across the outlets of Turner Sports,[14] averaging 1.2 million viewers.[15]

Neither player had ideal preparation for the match, with Koepka missing the cut in his previous two tournaments and DeChambeau having played no tournament golf for two months. Koepka won four of the first eight holes, and claimed victory when DeChambeau failed to make his birdie putt on the ninth green and conceded.[16] The players continued to play the next two holes, where DeChambeau won the longest drive and nearest the pin spot prizes for charity.[17]

The Match VI

[edit]

The sixth edition of The Match was announced April 18, 2022 to be held on June 1, with a roster consisting entirely of American football quarterbacks: Brady and Rodgers were paired against Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. It used a shamble format.[18][19] Brady and Rodgers defeated Allen and Mahomes by one hole;[20] the contest came down to the final putt, with Rodgers sinking the winning putt and Allen narrowly missing a long birdie putt that would have sent the match to a playoff.[21]

This was the first edition of The Match to be distributed internationally via Eurosport, GolfTV, and Discovery+, following the merger of Discovery Inc. with Turner Sports parent company WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery.[19] GolfTV had previously attempted to run its own, similar franchise of golf events as part of a content deal with Woods.[22] Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley served as commentators for the competition.

The Match VII

[edit]

The seventh edition of The Match was held in prime time on December 10, 2022 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. A mostly new roster of professional golfers took part after Mickelson, Koepka and DeChambeau were expelled from the PGA for competing in LIV Golf.[23][24] Rory McIlroy paired with Woods—competing in his first televised event since the 2022 Open Championship, and still recovering from injuries sustained in a 2021 car crash—against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in a four-ball event.[25] Spieth and Thomas defeated Woods and McIlroy 3 and 2 in the 12-hole event.[26][27]

The Match VIII

[edit]

The eighth edition of The Match was held on June 29, 2023, at Wynn Golf Club. This edition featured two championship-winning duos from different leagues, as Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce beat Golden State Warriors teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. [28]

The contest, which Mahomes and Kelce won decisively,[29] was the least-watched event in the series, dropping to 782,000 viewers across all simulcast partners.[30]

The Match IX

[edit]

The ninth edition of The Match was held February 26, 2024 at The Park Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida; it was a 12-hole skins game played between Max Homa, Rory McIlroy, Lexi Thompson, and Rose Zhang, and the first to involve LPGA players.[31] This edition was delayed from its originally planned December 15 date after discussions with The Park Golf Club fell through due to schedule conflicts.[32] The winner was eventually decided with a one-shot chip-off, in which Mcllroy hit closest-to-the-pin.[33] The final scoring had Mcllroy with 10 skins, Thompson with two, and the others with zero.[34]

The Match Superstars

[edit]

The tenth edition of The Match, billed as The Match Superstars, featured an all-celebrity format held at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Four teams of two—Wayne Gretzky & Bill Murray; Charles Barkley & Ken Griffey, Jr.; Michael Phelps & Mark Wahlberg; and Blake Griffin & Nate Bargatze—competed in a quarterfinal, with the partners split up and playing two knockout rounds of match play, each nine holes, to determine a winner.[35] The Match Superstars is the first to be pre-recorded; it was not announced until after the PGA/LIV edition of The Match (see below) and not until after the tournament had already been played. An edited compilation of the contest was carried on the outlets of TNT Sports in prime time November 21 and 22, 2024.[36] Phelps & Wahlberg and Gretzky & Murray advanced to the quarterfinals, with Phelps and Gretzky reaching the final round and Gretzky winning by two holes in the final.[37]

PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf

[edit]

The eleventh edition of The Match is slated to feature a "grudge match" format between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf; the admission of golfers from both circuits in the same contest has typically only happened during the major championships and the Olympic Games due to the PGA's policies. Representing LIV will be returning participants DeChambeau and Koepka, while the PGA Tour will be represented by McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. The match is scheduled for December 17, 2024 and will return to Shadow Creek Golf Course, the site of the first edition of The Match.[38] McIlroy described the invitation of LIV golfers into The Match as a "goodwill event" intended to "energize the fans" and heal a feud between the two circuits' golfers that had "gone on long enough." Uniquely for The Match, the four will not be competing for prize money and will only receive a set appearance fee.[39]

Television coverage

[edit]

Since its inception, The Match has been televised by platforms owned by TNT Sports.

The inagural edition was televised via pay-per-view through traditional television providers and Bleacher Report's live streaming platform B/R Live. However, after facing technical difficulties with B/R Live's payment system that prevented some customers from accessing the purchased PPV, B/R Live quietly dropped the pay-per-view and elected to stream The Match for free.[40][41] B/R Live, as well as other cable providers, issued refunds.[42][43]

Since then, The Match has been aired on cable television by TNT, select editions have also been simulcast on TBS, TruTV or HLN. Since 2022, The Match has also been distributed internationally via Eurosport, GolfTV, and Discovery+, all of which are owned by TNT Sports' parent company.[19]

US viewership

[edit]
Date Title USA TV Average USA viewership Source
November 28, 2018 The Match: Tiger vs. Phil Pay-per-view
B/R Live 		Unknown [44]
May 24, 2020 The Match: Champions for Charity TNT
TBS
TruTV
HLN 		5,800,000 [4]
November 27, 2020 The Match: Champions For Change TNT 1,000,000 [9]
July 6, 2021 The Match IV TNT
TBS
TruTV 		1,700,000 [45]
November 26, 2021 The Match: Bryson vs. Brooks TNT
TBS
TruTV
HLN 		1,200,000 [45]
June 1, 2022 The Match VI TNT
TruTV
HLN 		1,500,000 [46]
December 10, 2022 The Match VII TNT
TBS
TruTV
HLN 		1,400,000 [47]
June 29, 2023 The Match VIII TNT
TruTV
HLN 		773,000 [48]
February 26, 2024 The Match IX 511,000 [49]
November 22, 2024 The Match Superstars TNT 150,000 [50]

Results

[edit]
Date Title Winner(s) Score Opponent(s) Location Course
Nov 23, 2018 Tiger vs. Phil[a] Phil Mickelson 22 holes Tiger Woods North Las Vegas, Nevada Shadow Creek Golf Course
May 24, 2020 Champions For Charity Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning 1 up Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady Hobe Sound, Florida Medalist Golf Club
Nov 27, 2020 Champions For Change Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley 4 and 3 Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning Oro Valley, Arizona Stone Canyon Golf Club
Jul 6, 2021 The Match IV Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers 3 and 2 Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady Big Sky, Montana The Reserve at Moonlight Basin
Nov 26, 2021 Bryson vs. Brooks Brooks Koepka 5 and 3[b] Bryson DeChambeau Paradise, Nevada Wynn Golf Club
Jun 1, 2022 Brady/Rodgers vs. Allen/Mahomes Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers 1 up Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes Paradise, Nevada Wynn Golf Club
Dec 10, 2022 The Match VII Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas 3 and 2 Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods Belleair, Florida Pelican Golf Club
Jun 29, 2023 The Match VIII Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce 3 and 2 Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson Paradise, Nevada Wynn Golf Club
Feb 26, 2024 The Match IX Rory McIlroy 10–2–0–0 Lexi Thompson, Max Homa, Rose Zhang West Palm Beach, Florida Park City Municipal Golf Course
Nov 22, 2024 The Match Superstars Wayne Gretzky 2 up Michael Phelps West Palm Beach, Florida Breakers West Golf Club

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Unofficial money event on the PGA Tour.
  2. ^ The final score was reported during the broadcast, and in some news reports, as 4 and 3.[17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Shedloski, Dave (November 15, 2018). "How 'The Match' began—and where it might lead". Golf Digest. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Pickman, Ben (May 7, 2020). "Tiger Woods, Phil Dickelson, Tom Brady & Peyton Manning 2-on-2 Golf Special Set for May 24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Team Tiger-Peyton wins Capital One's The Match". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Jon Lewis (May 25, 2020). "Blockbuster numbers for "The Match"". Sports Media Watch.
  5. ^ "Commentators Announced for Coverage of Capital One's The Match: Champions for Charity on Sunday, May 24". WarnerMedia Press Room. Warner Media. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Melton, Zepher (November 26, 2020). "4 things to know about The Match: Champions for Change". Golf.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Banbury, Justine (October 19, 2020). "Phil Mickelson, Charles Barkley to Face Stephen Curry, Peyton Manning in 'The Match'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Porter, Kyle (November 27, 2020). "The Match 3 results, highlights: Mickelson and Barkley easily defeat Curry and Manning in shocking upset". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Jon Lewis (December 4, 2020). "Ratings: "The Match," Tyson PPV, F1 and more". Sports Media Watch.
  10. ^ Herrington, Ryan. "How to watch 'The Match 3: Champions for Change' on TV or streaming". Golf Digest.
  11. ^ Wells, Adam. "Mickelson, Tom Brady vs. DeChambeau, Aaron Rodgers Set for Capital One's 'The Match'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Westerholm, Tom (July 6, 2021). "It's Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson vs. Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau. Here's a guide to 'The Match'". Boston Globe. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  13. ^ VanHaaren, Tom (July 6, 2021). "Bryson DeChambeau, Aaron Rodgers beat Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady in 'The Match'". ESPN. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Harig, Bob (October 5, 2021). "Fifth edition of The Match to feature Bryson DeChambeau vs. Brooks Koepka over 12 holes in Las Vegas". ESPN. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Jon Lewis (December 2, 2021). "Ratings: NHL, ACC-B1G Challenge, "The Match"". Sports Media Watch.
  16. ^ Schlabach, Mark (November 26, 2021). "Brooks Koepka bests rival Bryson DeChambeau 4 and 3 in 'The Match'". ESPN. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Brooks Koepka Dominates Bryson DeChambeau, 5 and 3, to Win The Match". Sports Illustrated. November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers to Play Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in 'The Match' on June 1". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "Turner announces The Match will be distributed through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports platforms internationally". Awful Announcing. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  20. ^ VanHaaren, Tom (June 2, 2022). "Brady, Rodgers def. Mahomes, Allen in The Match". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  21. ^ Berhow, Josh (June 1, 2022). "The 6 best, funniest moments from the Brady/Rodgers vs. Mahomes/Allen Match". Golf.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (September 19, 2019). "Tiger Woods' first GolfTV match will be "The Challenge: Japan Skins"". Awful Announcing.
  23. ^ Harig, Bob (September 2, 2022). "Former PGA Tour Players Now With LIV Have Memberships Revoked for Next Season". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  24. ^ Schlabach, Mark (June 9, 2022). "PGA Tour suspends all players taking part in first LIV Golf tournament". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  25. ^ "Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy to take on Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas in 'The Match'". PGA Tour. November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  26. ^ "Spieth & Thomas beat Woods & McIlroy in The Match". BBC Sport. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  27. ^ "12 Takeaways From 'The Match': Tiger's Back, Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas Win and More". Sports Illustrated. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  28. ^ Zak, Sean (May 3, 2023). "Golf's next made-for-TV 'Match' is here and it's star-studded". Golf Magazine. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  29. ^ "The Match 2023 results: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce make quick work of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson in Las Vegas". www.sportingnews.com. June 30, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  30. ^ "The Match posts series-low viewership for tilt between NFL, NBA stars". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Powers, Christopher (January 23, 2024). "Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson to star alongside Rory McIlroy and Max Homa in the first mixed edition of The Match". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  32. ^ Schupak, Adam (November 17, 2023). "LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang in talks to be first female competitors in 'The Match' in 2024". Golfweek. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  33. ^ "Rory McIlroy prevails in sudden-death playoff to win the Match". CNN. February 27, 2024.
  34. ^ "The Match 2024: McIlroy comes out on top". ESPN.com. February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  35. ^ Morik, Ryan (November 1, 2024). "'The Match' changes up usual format in new star-studded event". Fox News. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  36. ^ "The 10th rendition of The Match is a two-night event in prime time with no pro golfers but tons of celebrities". Golfweek. October 31, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  37. ^ Kasabian, Paul (November 22, 2024). "TNT Sports' 'The Match' Superstars: Wayne Gretzky Tops Michael Phelps to Win Finals". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  38. ^ "We finally have date and course confirmation for the PGA Tour vs LIV Golf Showdown". Today's Golfer. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  39. ^ Ferguson, Doug (September 4, 2024). "'The Match' 2024 will feature stars from PGA Tour, LIV Golf". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  40. ^ "Due to technical difficulities, [sic] B/R Live ended up broadcasting Tiger vs. Phil for free". Awful Announcing. November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  41. ^ "The Match: Viewers get Tiger vs. Phil for free on Bleacher Report Live". USA Today. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  42. ^ "Comcast to issue refunds for Tiger vs. Phil match". Golf.com. November 24, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  43. ^ "Turner Sports joins others, announces customer refunds after 'The Match' streamed for free". USA Today. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  44. ^ "See how many people watched the Tiger vs. Phil match". Golf.com. November 27, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  45. ^ a b Lewis, Jon (December 2021). "Ratings: NHL, ACC-B1G Challenge, "The Match"". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  46. ^ Salem, Mitch (June 2, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Wednesday 6.1.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  47. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 13, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Saturday 12.10.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  48. ^ Lewis, Jon (June 2023). "Ratings: The Match, Gold Cup and more". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  49. ^ Lewis, Jon (February 2024). "Monday (2/26) sports ratings: College hoops tops another Monday". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  50. ^ Lewis, Jon (November 24, 2024). "Ratings: NBA, "The Match," Iowa WBB, NHL". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
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