It’s on now, Phil Mickelson tweeted late Wednesday afternoon.
His second match with Tiger Woods. The addition of NFL stars Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The May date, the Florida venue, the live TNT broadcast, the benefit for Covid-19 relief.
On now.
And when they tee it up in a few weeks, a live sporting event in the United States for the first time in two months.
On now.
“The Match: Champions for Charity,” which confirms an earlier report by GOLF.com, will pit Woods and Manning against Mickelson and Brady at a Florida course in May. The spectator-less event will be shown live on TNT, with money going to Covid-19 relief.
“After feeling the sting of defeat the first time around, Looks like @TigerWoods is bringing a ringer to The Match (#PeytonManning),” Mickelson tweeted, referring to their first match, the 2018 event at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, where Mickelson beat Woods on the 22nd hole and won a $9 million prize.
“I’m bringing a goat,” Mickelson said, using a goat emoji.
“@TomBrady – Ready to hit bombs?” Mickelson added, using a bomb emoji.
Tournament officials, Bleacher Report reported, are working with government and public health officials on the logistics of the event. A PGA Tour official told the Action Network’s Jason Sobel that Woods and Mickelson would need to receive a release form for the event.
Action Network also reported that May 24, the Sunday before Memorial Day, is a potential date, and the course could be Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla., where Woods is a member.
The event will be the first live sporting event since the middle of March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The PGA Tour played one round of the Players Championship before it canceled play, and last week, the Tour announced that it was aiming to return on June 11 for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was hopeful last week that the Woods-Mickelson-Brady-Manning match would be played.
“If NASCAR does a race and can televise it, without large crowds, I think that’s a good thing,” DeSantis said. “I’d like to see Woods and Mickelson do the golf, or whatever, because that’s social distance.”
“You wouldn’t have a gallery there, you wouldn’t have crowds,” DeSantis continued. ”But to put that on TV, I think people have been starved for content.”
Bettors, too.
Jeff Sherman, the head golf oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, tweeted that the Woods-Manning pairing would be favored, at -150 (bet $150 to win $250 total), and Mickelson-Brady would be at +130 (bet $100 to win $230 total).
“There was talks about doing it all along anyway,” Manning told 104.3 The Fan in Denver earlier Wednesday, before the event was announced, according to ESPN. “And now, to have a chance to have a major fundraising event for COVID-19 relief, almost like a telethon if you will … If that can take place, I’m all-in for that.”
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