TIGER-PHIL “THE MATCH” SHOWED LITTLE GOLF

Photo by Fletcher Wold / the Advocate

“The Match.” Much anticipated for months on end; Tiger Woods versus Phil Mickelson; $9 million on the line: What could go wrong?

Other than the fact that the two are seemingly out of their prime, and the conversation would be completely one-sided? To say the least, The Match, live-streamed on Nov. 23 to a paying audience, did not meet expectations.

Starting off with the small talk, Tiger has never been one to hold conversations with anyone other than his caddy while on the course. Tiger has always stuck to himself, staying laser-focused and, for the most part, playing good golf. Phil, on the other hand, is like your local restaurant waiter who loves greeting everyone and continuously cracks mediocre jokes to lighten the mood.

Needless to say, the small talk in The Match was one-sided and seemed almost forced.

Next, we’ll move onto the golf that was played. Phil is normally known as one of, if not the greatest, short-game players of all time, but come time for this round, he seemed to be the exact opposite. Mishits and inaccuracy plagued his round and he just couldn’t seem to find his groove. Meanwhile, Tiger, who is normally a good putter, couldn’t seem to hole anything from beyond 5 feet. The one positive that came from their play was that both of the players were swinging the big stick well. For the past few years both players have not been at their best with the driver, and it’s been the part of their game that holds them back from competing at the top in each tournament. But when the lights were on, they seemed to find their groove with the driver.

Lastly, the betting. Everyone who golfs knows that side bets are just part of the game. A couple bucks here and there just adds a little more pressure and fun to the game. But, between these two, it seemed like Tiger wanted no part in it. Which isn’t surprising, since he sticks to himself for the most part, but it seemed like Phil had to instigate all the of the gambling. Tiger never backed down from any of these challenges, but I believe that it is just because he is so confident in his game, not necessarily that he actually wanted to bet.

Along with being so forced, betting $1 million dollars on whoever gets an eagle might sound awesome, but really it is just a slot filler for all the bets that were not made.

Being fair, these two stars love competition and hate losing, so it came as no surprise when they didn’t focus on the betting side when the round got into crunch time. In the end, Phil came out $9 million richer in what was a lackluster display of talents by two legends.

Advocate Staff