Could “The Match” become an annual thing, complete with other stars from the NFL, NBA and beyond?
It looks like we are working toward that.
After Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning teamed up to defeat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in “The Match: Champions for Charity” on Sunday while raising $20 million for COVID-19 relief in the process, there are talks to make this a yearly event.
The contest averaged 5.8 million viewers and peaked at 6.3 million this past weekend, making it the most watched golf telecast in cable television history. Yes, even more than The Masters.
So what would future matches look like? Mickelson has some ideas:
“What if Tiger and I were to team up and take on two younger players, or what if we were to team up with younger players and have it be a real high-level golf competition?” Mickelson said, according to Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times. “I think there’s a market for that. But you have to have some personality in there, too, so a guy like Justin Thomas showed how funny he is and he would add a lot to an event like that.”
As for who else could potentially participate? Mickelson thought of several NBA and NFL stars, past and present:
“I think you could showcase guys like Steph Curry and Michael Jordan or Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes, who are all good golfers, elite talents and have great personalities,” he said. “Those personalities are going to come out with this event. Or you could have someone who loves the game and is competitive but is really entertaining like Larry David and Bill Murray. I think that could shine.”
Curry was apparently considered for Manning's spot this year, but the legendary quarterback was chosen because he shares representation with Tiger and has a natural rivalry with Brady.
Woods and Mickelson held their first event back in 2018. They agreed to do three of these, and with the two superstars splitting the first two, a third contest definitely makes sense. And maybe there will be even more down the line.
It would certainly be cool to see NBA legends like Jordan and Curry participate in the future.
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