Golf fans, it’s almost here. “The Match” between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is set to get underway Friday, Nov. 23. Will you tune in? Here are 23 facts, figures and details to help you make up your mind.
1. “The Match” will begin at 3 p.m. ET and 12 p.m. local time in Las Vegas. So get on the couch after lunch and settle in for an afternoon full of golf.
2. It will be staged at the ultra-private Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. If you’re not familiar with the venue, the place looks sweet.
3. It’ll cost you $19.99 to stream on pay-per-view. You can watch through Turner’s B/R Live, DIRECTV, and AT&T U-verse. The PPV will be also be distributed through other cable, satellite and telco operators in the U.S. and Canada.
4. Don’t bother trying to attend in person. It’s closed to the public. Only sponsors and VIP guests have been invited to watch the action on site.
5. The purse is $9 million and it’s winner-take-all. Tiger and Phil also plan to do some side bets during the round, which could include challenges on putts and drives.
6. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charities selected by both Tiger and Mickelson. So not all of the money is going into the pockets of Tiger, Phil, and Turner Sports.
7. HBO Sports did a 24/7 series previewing “The Match” and it was really good.
8. There have been several hype videos released over the last few weeks to get fans ready. Are you hyped? Some have been really good, others not so much.
9. The caddies will be familiar. Tim Mickelson will caddie for his brother, while Joe LaCava will loop for Woods.
10. The Turner Sports broadcast team for “The Match” is an interesting group. Ernie Johnson gets the nod for the play-by-play and will be joined in the booth by Darren Clarke and Peter Jacobsen, while Shane Bacon and Natalie Gulbis will handle on-course reporting. Turner will also stage a pregame show hosted by Adam Lefkoe and featuring Charles Barkley, Samuel L. Jackson and Pat Perez.
11. Tiger will play TaylorMade clubs, while Phil will go with his usual Callaway sticks. Both manufacturers are getting some nice exposure here.
12. Tour pros are split over whether they’ll tune in. Jordan Spieth said that he will be watching, while Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas will pass.
13. Historically when paired together, Tiger has a slight head-to-head advantage. He’s 18-15-4 in his career when playing in the same group as Lefty (albeit in stroke play).
14. Both players last appeared at the Ryder Cup. Before that, Tiger played the Tour Championship at East Lake, which he won. Phil last teed up at the Safeway Open in October.
15. Both players have won titles this year. Tiger won at East Lake, while Phil won the the WGC-Mexico Championship in March.
16. Both players are in the midst of major-championship droughts. Phil’s last major was the 2013 British Open, while Tiger’s oh-fer dates back to the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
17. Both played collegiately for PAC-12 schools. Phil attended Arizona State, while Tiger teed it up for Stanford.
18. Lefty turned professional four years before Tiger. Mickelson started on Tour in 1992, while Woods said “Hello, world” in 1996.
19. Both Tiger and Phil won their first majors at Augusta. Tiger won the 1997 Masters, while Phil earned his first green jacket in 2004.
20. Tiger has never finished runner-up to Phil at a major, but Phil finished runner-up to Tiger at the 2002 U.S. Open.
21. Tiger ($116 million) and Phil ($88 million) are first and second all-time on the career money list.
22. There have been two seasons when Woods and Mickelson both won majors: 2005 and 2006. In ’05 Tiger won the Masters and British Open, while Phil won the PGA . In ’06 Woods won the British and the PGA, and Mickelson won the Masters.
23. Tiger and Phil rank first and second among active players in both majors and PGA Tour wins. Woods has 80 wins and 14 majors, which are both second all time. Mickelson has 43 wins (ninth all time) and five majors (14th all time).
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