Wow, that was fun.
Although the day started with dark skies and an ominous forecast, The Match II was a hit success with Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning besting Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in a 1-up victory.
After a 45-minute delay to the start of the round, the teams got off to a bit of a slow start as the QBs showed some serious nerves early on. Brady struggled particularly in the beginning, and Twitter let him hear it. The former QB fought his swing all day and his team fell 3 down through eight holes, but he still provided perhaps the most memorable moment of the day.
Fresh off swing advice (and some good-natured ribbing) from commentator Charles Barkley on the 7th, Brady zipped his wedge shot back into the hole for birdie, sending the internet into a frenzy.
The Mickelson-Brady pairing battled back on the back nine with an eagle on No. 11 and won the 14th with a par to pull to within one. From there on in, Mickelson seemed to make clutch putt after clutch putt to keep his team in it, but ultimately they just ran out of holes.
An anti-climatic halved hole at the 18th gave the Tiger-Manning pairing the victory, complete with some awkward celebratory arm bumps.
“To go behind the ropes in these guys’ world and to be in the arena with them, it was really a special experience,” Manning said after the round. “Knowing that $20 million was raised and helping people that are really going through tough times, it was an honor … something I’ll always remember and cherish.”
Editor’s Picks
Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in the return of The Match
Tiger Woods’ incredible alternate-shot advice for Justin Thomas
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning’s first tee shots at Medalist were hard to watch
