Follow 'The Match' live: Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning vs. Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady
Welcome to a live blog for “The Match: Champions For Charity.”
We’ll keep you up to date, hole-by-hole, right here as Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning tee it up against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady for the second edition of “The Match.”
The showdown begins on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET from Medalist Golf Club in South Florida, and is expected to raise at least $10 million for COVID-19 relief.
Las Vegas has pegged Woods and Manning as the betting favorites Mostly, though, everyone’s just hoping Part 2 is better than Part 1.
For post-round coverage of “The Match: Champions For Charity,” click here.
The Match raises $20 million for COVID-19 relief
While “The Match” was a lot of fun, there was a greater purpose to it.
By the end of the broadcast, the four players had raised $19,729,106 for COVID-19 relief — well beyond their initial $10 million goal. Turner Sports then bumped that figure up to a round number to hit $20 million.
#CapitalOnesTheMatch helped raise $20M for COVID-19 relief 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2eCCZDJpZy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 25, 2020
Hole 18: Woods, Manning secure the win
While Mickelson and Brady put themselves in position to extend the match on the final hole, Woods came through strong.
Woods, with two putts to win the match, rolled his deep birdie putt to just inches from the cup. Mickelson and Brady had no choice but to concede, giving Woods and Manning the win.
Drama until the very end. @TigerWoods and Peyton Manning hold off a back-nine surge from @PhilMickelson and @TomBrady to win #CapitalOnesTheMatch. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kso4n2c2aQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 25, 2020
Hole 17: Manning, Woods head to final hole with slight lead
Mickelson and Woods each stuck their approach shots on the green at the par-5 17th, giving the two quarterbacks long but makeable birdie putts.
Neither, though, was able to sink the putt.
So, Woods and Manning will head to the final hole with a 1-up lead.
Hole 16: Brady, Mickelson, Manning stick it close
There were three incredible shots on the par-3 16th, and Woods didn’t author a single one of them.
Brady, Mickelson and Manning all stuck their shots within 12 feet from the hole — Manning’s being just within inches. The shots led Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who had called in to the broadcast, to donate 300,000 meals to charity, too.
Brady and Mickelson gave Woods the birdie putt. Mickelson then sunk the short birdie putt to halve the hole.
Holes 13, 14, 15: Rain picks back up
Mickelson and Brady had their chance.
Woods hit his approach shot into a bunker on the 13th, and Manning — while attempting to flop it out right next to the cup — flew the green, opening the door for Mickelson and Brady.
As that happened, though, the rain picked back up. Hard.
The downpour that initially delayed the match resumed, and threw the golfers off. They ended up halving the hole, missing the opportunity to get back in it.
They had another chance at the 14th, too, after Manning’s approach shot missed the green while Mickelson stuck it close. Brady, though, just missed their putt to win the hole to the left of the cup.
Manning, however, missed his short putt to halve the hole — giving Brady and Mickelson the hole.
Mickelson was faced with a big putt at the 15th, too, and expertly drained it to tie the hole and keep them just one back with three holes left.
Holes 10, 11, 12: Mickelson hits a bomb
The two halved the first hole of the modified alternate shot.
It wasn’t until the 11th that Mickelson finally whipped out a bomb.
On the 330-yard par-4, Mickelson landed his drive right next to the cup — nearly sinking it from the tee box. The ball finally settled about eight feet from the cup, just off the edge of the green.
Brady then sunk the eagle putt, bringing them back within two holes.
He had a chance to cut it back to just one on the 12th hole, but hit his birdie putt a bit too hard.
Holes 8, 9: Woods, Manning hold steady
Even after Brady’s heroics on the seventh hole, Woods and Manning held strong.
The duo kept their lead at 3-up after Mickelson sunk a par putt on the eighth and fended them off again at the ninth, thanks to an insanely-close chip from the bunker by Woods.
Woods and Manning head to the back nine, where it’ll flip to alternate shot, with a 3-hole lead.
Holes 6, 7: Brady rallies, holes out
Manning came through again on the sixth hole, sinking a short birdie putt to put them 3-up over Brady and Mickelson.
That, though, is when Brady finally turned it on out of nowhere.
After struggling throughout nearly the entire round, making him the target of countless jokes on Twitter, Brady holed out for birdie on the seventh hole.
Yes, really.
WHAT THE HELL pic.twitter.com/YNCFF0MBQD
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 24, 2020
To make it even better, the shot came right after Barkley had been talking trash to Brady through his earpiece.
Turns out, Brady really is good at golf after all.
Hole 5: One club challenge
The fifth hole had a special stipulation: Players were only allowed to use one club for the entire hole.
The move saved Mickelson and Brady, too.
Woods was in position to win the hole while putting with his 5-iron. His par putt, though, just barely lipped out.
Brady and Manning, standing just off the edge of the green holding their breath, were thrilled.
Holes 3, 4: Woods wins long drive, hits Brady with perfect dig
The third hole featured a special long drive challenge, with a bonus $250,000 donation serving as the prize.
The only requirement was that the drives had to land in the fairway.
Mickelson stepped up first, and even announced a special $1.5 million donation to the pot from Workday, one of his top sponsors, before teeing off.
That bonus, though, didn’t help. His shot went wide left into the trees.
So, Woods hit it straight down the middle for his third fairway hit in three holes.
While Brady and Manning weren’t part of the challenge, their drives didn’t go well, either.
Manning’s went wide left, and Brady’s went way off to the fight.
Let's check in on Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/DoEIHSFHhs
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) May 24, 2020
Woods couldn’t resist throwing in a subtle one-liner after that one.
"That'll be in the fairway ... over on 7." - Tiger to Brady
😂 pic.twitter.com/3bz4oCTLQa— Michael Shamburger (@mshamburger1) May 24, 2020
Woods and Manning took the hole, going 1-up.
They kept it going on the fourth hole, too, with Manning expertly sinking a birdie putt to put them 2-up.
They didn’t have to worry about Brady and Mickelson much there, either.
Peyton Manning drains the long putt. #TheMatch pic.twitter.com/8fX4D9gJr9
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 24, 2020
Hole 2: Mickelson expertly details shot, then saves par
Mickelson channeled his inner-Tony Romo on the second hole.
Lefty, after hitting his approach shot left of the green, was lined up to hit a chip shot when on-course announcer Justin Thomas walked up and asked him to explain what he was doing.
So, Mickelson walked fans through his chip, where he wanted to land the ball and why it was different now with all of the rain.
After he was done talking us through it, he executed the shot perfectly. His ball settled just inches from the cup, saving par to halve the second hole — and thoroughly impressing viewers at home.
Phil with the PhD level explanation of his shot followed by the perfect execution was a thing of beauty.#TheMatch
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 24, 2020
Phil: “So I’m gonna do x,y,z, play it here, make this happen, slow it down this way, and run it out toward the hole.”
*exactly that happens, and he burns the edge*— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) May 24, 2020
Phil Mickelson walking us through his chip, then executing it, and then talking through the "late sauce" afterwards was amazing.
— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) May 24, 2020
Hole 1: A slow, wet start
The first hold didn’t go well for anyone.
Manning and Brady both hit their drives wide left of the fairway, with Manning’s landing in the trees and Brady’s landing in the sand. Mickelson was in the trees, too, though he expertly punched out safely on the green.
Woods was the only one who hit his drive safely into play.
Though it wasn’t a great start, it was extremely relatable for fans watching at home — especially when Brady started counting out his shots.
Peyton Manning searching for his ball in the bushes...just like us! pic.twitter.com/rBL7OnaJYX
— SI Golf (@SI_Golf) May 24, 2020
Turns out Tom Brady is human and has nerves. pic.twitter.com/D0WxXC1yHh
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) May 24, 2020
What is Tom Brady counting?
Wrong answers only. pic.twitter.com/7BChuoO1K5— Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 24, 2020
Both Woods and Mickelson saved par to halve the hole, though they made each other actually finish out their short par putts to do so.
Game on.
Peyton Manning’s hilarious caddie options
The four players on Sunday didn’t get caddies for numerous reasons. They all have individual carts, so they simply aren’t needed.
Had that been an option, though, Manning had plenty of people he could have called.
They just might not have been fun for Brady.
“Do you bring Eli [Manning]? Could do that. Do you bring Nick Foles? Maybe,” Manning said. “I was thinking maybe Belichick. Bill Belichick caddy for me, just to see how that kind of would have worked.”
Haven't even gotten off the range and Peyton is firing bullets at Brady. #TheMatch @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/q0RbkvNeS1
— Charlie Clifford (@cliffWISH8) May 24, 2020
Brady’s reaction said it all.
The Match delayed due to storms
Thunderstorms in South Florida have delayed “The Match.”
Originally slated to start at 3 p.m. ET, “The Match” won’t start until at least 3:45 p.m. ET, according to Golf.com.
Based on the radar for the area, and the initial shots on the broadcast, that start time may be a bit optimistic.
🏌️☔️ Pretty disheartening Radar loop for #TheMatch, we are clearing out just about everywhere except Hobe Sound 😐 pic.twitter.com/5zYcKoFvyI
— Kevin Roth (@KevinRothWx) May 24, 2020
Social distancing and pouring rain pic.twitter.com/GRsYTQci7X
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) May 24, 2020
honestly this is the best possible version of this thing pic.twitter.com/qdrbohhsFe
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) May 24, 2020
I think they can get it in soon. pic.twitter.com/6WT7vnoPQT
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) May 24, 2020
Thankfully, though, the storms pushed through and play got underway just before 4 p.m. ET.
Tiger Woods’ ‘Sunday red’
Woods was never going to deviate from his traditional Sunday look. He’s stuck with it throughout his entire career.
But after months of no golf, it’s hard not to get excited when you see Woods show up to a golf course in the classic, red-and-black combo.
The Sunday red returns. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/D3JJC5jBlP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 24, 2020
Russell Wilson gets in on the action
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson may not be playing in “The Match,” but he isn’t letting the opportunity to trash talk a fellow quarterback go to waste.
Wilson posted an edited clip from the movie “Happy Gilmore” to Twitter on Sunday morning, where Brady’s face was put on the body of Shooter McGavin.
Me checking in on @TomBrady during the 16th hole today! #CapitalOneTheMatch ... See you all there! 🏌🏽♂️⛳️ pic.twitter.com/yZejMZ5wUi
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) May 24, 2020
Looks like it’s clear who Wilson is pulling for.
Phil Mickelson’s trash talk starts early
Mickelson didn’t waste any time on Sunday morning.
Mickelson, in a video he posted to Twitter, revealed his rather interesting strategy to win with Brady.
The winning formula? “C^2 = B+HS = I and V”
.@PhilMickelson has an interesting formula to win #TheMatch today with @TomBrady 😂pic.twitter.com/VyhYaSdUhM
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 24, 2020
More from Yahoo Sports: