Point. There’s every reason to relax during Sunday’s The Match: Champions for Charity, featuring the team of Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning taking on the team of Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. It’s a charity exhibition. There’s no reason to compete.
Counterpoint. Manning’s scorecard after a practice round on Friday at Medalist.
Manning played with Medalist members Woods, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff, the latter two playing in last week’s charity exhibition, TaylorMade’s Driving Relief at Seminole Golf Club. In the middle of their scorecard are scores for Manning (4-over 40 on the front nine, and even-par through 16 holes on the back nine), Woods (1-over 37 on the front, and no score written for the back) and Fowler (2-under 34 on the front, and 1-under through 16 on the back), with no scores written for Wolff.
About 25 notes are scribbled around the scores. Some say which clubs he used on certain holes – “1 driver 8 irn.” Some offer instruction – “tee it low.” Some are known only to Manning.
“Peyton teed it up this afternoon with @RickieFowler @matthew_wolff5 & his partner @TigerWoods …asked him if he took any notes to prepare annnnnnd of course he did #CapitalOnesTheMatch,” tweeted one of the match’s on-course reporters, Amanda Balionis, under a picture of the scorecard.
Manning and Woods’ opponents also got in a round with some Medalist members.
Mickelson and Brady played with Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas, the other on-course reporter for the match. No scores on the picture shared by Mickelson on social media. Just the foursome standing on a tee box.
“@tombrady and I are putting in some work before The Match,” Mickelson wrote under the photo. “Great to be out here at The Medalist with @patrickcantlay and @justinthomas34 getting us familiar with the course … where we’ll beat Tiger (again) and Peyton on Sunday. #LetsGo.”
The “again” was also in the photo.
Mickelson defeated Woods in 2018 in their first match. Along with $9 million, he won a belt buckle. Which he buckled his belt with Friday.
“Notice the belt is from the first Match. Only the winner received one,” Mickelson also wrote under the photo, adding a grinning emoji.