The Match | |
---|---|
Genre | Sport |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 9 |
Production | |
Production locations | Las Vegas, Nevada Hobe Sound, Florida Oro Valley, Arizona Big Sky, Montana |
Running time | 4 hours |
Original release | |
Network | TNT Sports |
Release | November 23, 2018 – 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, one in the spring or early summer and the other (usually) on Thanksgiving weekend. The Thanksgiving contest features professional golfers, often paired with an athlete from another sport; the spring contests, taking place during the PGA Tour season, normally consist solely of non-golfers, which to date have consisted of current or retired American football and basketball players competing during their respective sports' offseasons.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
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 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 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 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]
No edition of The Match was held in November or December 2023, after discussions with The Park Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida for a December 15 competition fell through due to schedule conflicts. [31]
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. [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 2015 Masters Tournament was the 79th Masters Tournament, and the first of golf's four major championships, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jordan Spieth led wire-to-wire and shot a record-tying 270 (−18) to win his first major at the age of 21, four strokes ahead of runners-up Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose, both major champions.
The 2016 Masters Tournament was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Danny Willett won his first major championship, three strokes ahead of runners-up Lee Westwood and defending champion Jordan Spieth. Spieth suffered one of the biggest collapses in Masters history. Spieth led the tournament from the first round and built a five-shot lead going to the back nine on Sunday, but lost six shots to par over the next three holes culminating in a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole where he hit two balls into Rae's Creek. Willett shot a bogey-free 67 to overtake Spieth when the leader faltered on the back nine. Willett became the first European to win the Masters since 1999, and the first Englishman to do so since Nick Faldo in 1996.
The 42nd Ryder Cup Matches were held in France from 28 to 30 September 2018 on the Albatros Course of Le Golf National in Guyancourt, a suburb southwest of Paris. It was the second Ryder Cup to be held in Continental Europe, after the 1997 contest, which was held in Spain. The United States were the defending champions, but had lost the last five matches in Europe, having last won there in 1993. Europe regained the Ryder Cup, winning by 171⁄2 points to 101⁄2.
Bryson James Aldrich DeChambeau is an American professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open.
The 2017 U.S. Open Championship was the 117th U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee. Brooks Koepka claimed his first major title with a 16-under-par 272, four strokes ahead of runners-up Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama. Koepka's score matched the lowest ever at the championship, set in 2011 by Rory McIlroy.
The 43rd Ryder Cup Matches were held in the United States from September 24–26, 2021, on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin. Europe was the holder of the Ryder Cup after its win over the United States in 2018 at Le Golf National.
The 2018 Masters Tournament was the 82nd edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of golf's four major championships in 2018. It was held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 2018 World Cup of Golf was a golf tournament that was played from 22 to 25 November at Metropolitan Golf Club in South Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. It was the 59th World Cup. The format is 72-hole stroke play; the first and third days were four-ball, and the second and fourth days were foursomes play.
The 2019 Masters Tournament was the 83rd edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of golf's four major championships in 2019, held between April 11 and 14 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 2019 PGA Championship was the 101st edition of the PGA Championship, and the second of golf's four major championships in 2019, held May 16–19 at the Black Course in Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, New York. This was the first edition under the new schedule in which the PGA Championship is the second major of the year, having previously been the final one for decades. It was the third major and first PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, which hosted U.S. Opens in 2002 and 2009, won by Tiger Woods and Lucas Glover, respectively.
The 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational was a professional golf tournament held July 25–28 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the 21st WGC Invitational tournament, and the third of the World Golf Championships events in 2019. It was the first time the event had been held in Tennessee, having previously been based at Firestone Country Club in Ohio.
The 2020 United States Open Championship was the 120th U.S. Open, held September 17–20 over the West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. Originally scheduled for June 18–21, the championship was postponed three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was played without spectators. It was the first U.S. Open held in September in 107 years.
The 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship was a golf tournament played February 20–23 at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Naucalpan, Mexico, just west of Mexico City. It was the 21st time the WGC Championship is played, and the first of the World Golf Championships events to be staged in 2020. The approximate elevation of the course's clubhouse is 2,400 meters (7,870 ft) above sea level.
The 2021 PGA Championship was the 103rd PGA Championship, held May 20–23 in South Carolina at Kiawah Island Golf Resort's Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. It was the second major championship at the Ocean Course; the PGA Championship in August 2012 was won by Rory McIlroy.
The 2021 United States Open Championship was the 121st U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament that was played June 17–20 on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. The South Course previously hosted in 2008, which was won by Tiger Woods in a playoff.
The 2021 Players Championship was the 47th Players Championship and was played March 11–14 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was the fortieth edition held at the Stadium Course; the 2020 tournament was abandoned before the first round was completed, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 PGA Championship was a professional golf tournament, held May 19–22 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the 104th PGA Championship. This was the fifth PGA Championship at Southern Hills and its eighth major championship. The event was originally scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, but was moved to Southern Hills following the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
The 2022 Masters Tournament was the 86th edition of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major golf championships of 2022, held April 7–10 at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 2023 Masters Tournament was the 87th edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2023. The tournament was played from April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, United States.
The 2024 United States Open Championship was the 124th U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament played from June 13–16 on course number 2 of Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It is the 1,000th USGA staged championship in the organization's history. Bryson DeChambeau won the tournament to claim his second U.S. Open title.