Did DJ Khaled really think he was playing in The Match? Paul Bissonnette explains

If you watched The Match between Rory McIlroy, Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson and Max Homa in February, chances are you saw DJ Khaled, too.

You also probably know that DJ Khaled beat Charles Barkley in a par-3 contest earlier that day. (He reminded us of that often.)

Despite meager ratings, the Match IX had its moments. It also had one confusing storyline. Khaled teamed with former NHL player and current TNT host Paul Bissonnette as special contributors from an on-course cart. During the broadcast, No Laying Up reported that Khaled actually showed up to the venue, the Park in West Palm Beach, Fla., thinking he was going to play with the LPGA and PGA Tour stars.

Bissonnette went to Khaled’s defense, tweeting that the report was “fake news” and sharing a video of Khaled answering if he thought he was playing the event. But Khaled seemed to dodge the question.

But two days later, “after some serious thought,” Bissonnette walked back his defense of Khaled on his Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.

On this week’s GOLF Subpar, Bissonnette went a step further and set the record straight for co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

“No Laying Up posted because I think they had somebody at the course reach out to them and say it. And when I asked [Khaled], he was like, ‘Nah, man, they just hating,'” Bissonnette said while appearing with his Spittin’ Chiclets co-host Ryan Whitney. “I think he showed up that day thinking he was playing Charles [all 18 holes].”

Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson, Max Homa and Rory McIlroy all played in the Match IX.
Homa’s live mic, Rose’s course load, Charles Barkley: 10 best moments of The Match IX
By: Jack Hirsh

Khaled was supposed to play Barkley for just one hole, the Park’s par-3 16th, but Khaled didn’t take losing to Barkley too well.

“Because he was so disappointed because he thought he was playing a whole round, he like roped [Barkley] into doing a best of three,” Bissonnette said.

We don’t need to remind you that Khaled won the second two holes because during each of he and Bissonnette’s hits, he reminded Barkley of the results.

The Match producers apparently grew tired of the bragging as well because Bissonnette said they asked him to step away from Khaled for his final appearance. However, once the light went on that showed Bissonnette was live on the air, he called Khaled in to join him anyway.

“And that was our last hit on television, so I might as well just showed up to The Match and poured drinks for the Capital One sponsorship people,” he said. “It would have been the same amount of work.”

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.