The biggest names in men’s professional golf are set to play in an under-the-lights exhibition Saturday in prime time.
And, oh yes, Tiger Woods is one of those golfers.
Woods and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy will take on major winners and childhood friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the latest edition of The Match on Saturday on Sportsnet ONE and SN NOW.
The 12-hole exhibition will be contested under the lights at a venue that’s long drawn comparisons to Augusta National.
Woods hasn’t teed it up since The Open Championship in July, where he missed the cut. He played three times on the PGA Tour this season (he found the weekend at the Masters and was forced to withdraw after three rounds of the PGA Championship) and was prepared to tee it up at the Hero World Challenge last week before suffering from plantar fasciitis and withdrawing.
The 46-year-old has practised plenty at home over the last few months and has even put up a handful of impressive scores at his home club in Florida, where he often plays alongside Thomas.
“I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever shot you want,” said Woods in a pre-event Zoom call with reporters. “I just can’t walk.”
Walking, however, won’t be necessary Saturday — the competitors will be allowed to use a cart.
Despite Woods being, arguably, the greatest golfer in history and McIlroy in the conversation as the heir apparent to Tiger in the modern game — “I have the No.1 player on my team, so I’m good,” said Woods, with a laugh, of McIlroy’s greatest strength — Thomas and Spieth will be no pushover. The duo — major champions, FedExCup winners, and former world No.1s, both — went a perfect 4-0 as a team in September’s Presidents Cup.
With the holiday season right around the corner, here’s everything you need to know about an awesome gift for golf fans — the seventh edition of The Match.
Broadcast details
The coverage kicks off with a 30-minute in-depth conversation with all four participants before a pre-match show that follows at 6:30 p.m. ET, leading right into the live competition.
Brian Anderson will host the coverage with Kathryn Tappen as the on-course reporter. Charles Barkley will be one of the analysts along with Trevor Immelman.
The golf course
Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. will play host.
The course, located about 20 minutes south of the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., is an annual stop on the LPGA Tour, with world No. 2 Nelly Korda having won back-to-back Pelican Women’s Championships.
The near 100-year-old facility was designed by iconic golf course architect Donald Ross in 1925. In 2017, it started a project to turn the “dilapidated public layout” into the exclusive public facility it is now, according to Golf Digest. The restoration was completed in 2019.
Beau Welling (a senior consultant on Woods’ design firm) revitalized the course with Ross and other “Golden Age” architects top-of-mind. There are plenty of similarities between the course and Augusta National — Fred Ridley, the Chairman of Augusta National, is actually a member at Pelican GC — including it being a second-shot golf course and how, with few water hazards, the course’s main defence is its greens.
The format
The golfers will compete in a best ball format with each player on the team playing his own ball throughout the round. The team score will be the player with the lowest score on each hole.
The match will serve as a platform to benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts (the previous six editions of The Match have raised nearly $33 million for various charitable organizations).
There are a few special holes to watch out for as well:
Hole 3: The DraftKings Sportsbook Closest to the Hole
Hole 4: Capital One Club Challenge
Hole 5: USAA Insurance Hole in One Challenge
Hole 8: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Hole in One Challenge
Hole 9: UnitedHealthcare Closest to the Hole Challenge
The players
Tiger Woods: The 82-time PGA Tour winner and 15-time major champion will be teeing it up for the first time since The Open Championship in July. This is his third time playing in The Match.
Rory McIlroy: The FedExCup champion from 2022 and reigning world No.1 won three times on the PGA Tour this year, including defending his title at the RBC Canadian Open plus the Tour Championship and CJ Cup. He played four times on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) this fall, with results of T2-4-T4-4. This is his Match debut.
Justin Thomas: The former world No. 1 captured his second major championship title this year, winning the PGA Championship in a playoff. He had 10 top-10 finishes this season en route to finishing fifth in the FedExCup standings. This is his Match debut, although he was one of the broadcasters during The Match’s second edition in 2020.
Jordan Spieth: Another former world No. 1, Spieth won the RBC Heritage in April in a playoff. He had six top-10 finishes this season and also notched two runner-up results — at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the AT&T Byron Nelson. This is his Match debut.
The action
According to Sports Interaction, the team of Woods and McIlroy is a slight favourite over Thomas and Spieth.
Usually, you’d think the most dominant golfer in history paired with the world No. 1 would be a bigger favourite than currently listed, but with the 12-hole format, with the under-the-lights variable, plus Woods’ health, the teams are more evenly matched per the available lines (as of Thursday).
Woods/McIlroy: -123
Thomas/Spieth: -113
The history of The Match
This marks the seventh edition of The Match. Here’s how the previous versions played out:
Tiger vs. Phil (Nov. 23, 2018): Phil Mickelson defeated Tiger Woods in 22 holes at Shadow Creek GC in Las Vegas.
Champions for Charity (May 24, 2020): Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1-up at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.
Champions for Change (Nov. 27, 2020): Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley defeated Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning 4 and 3 at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Ariz.
The Match IV (July 6, 2020): Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 3 and 2 at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Mont.
Bryson vs. Brooks (Nov. 26, 2021): Brooks Koepka defeated Bryson DeChambeau 5 and 3 at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.
Brady/Rodgers vs. Allen/Mahomes (June 1, 2022): Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers defeated Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes 1-up at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.