The Masters is a tradition unlike any other. The Match will be an event unlike any other.
After months of hype and trash talk, it's time for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to put their money where their mouths are. At an oasis in the middle of the Las Vegas desert, Woods and Mickelson are all set to tee it up at the majestic Shadow Creek with $9 million on the line.
The match-play event is something the golf world - or sports world, for that matter - has never seen. If the $19.99 pay-per-view price tag was too much for you, USA TODAY Sports' Adam Woodard and Martin Rogers are here to track the match and highlight it's biggest moments for you.
Hole 18 (extra hole) - Par 5
So here's the deal: Since we're all-square at 18, they'll play the 18th again. If still all-square after the replay, they'll play the "20th Hole," a manufactured 93-yard par 3. They'll continue to play the "20th Hole" sudden death until there's a winner.
Tiger: It's getting cold, but Tiger's driver is hot. Too hot.
Phil: Phil hit a good shot, but it finds the short rough, virtually the same spot as a few moments ago.
Hole 18 - Par 5
Tiger: Tiger hit his best drive of the day there, flying down the left side of the fairway. Tiger's 6-iron from the fairway is just a little too long as it landed on the green and skips to the fringe. Maybe he can chip it in again? Tiger lags this one from well-over 50 feet to 5 feet, setting up a great birdie chance and putting the pressure on Phil.
Phil: Uh-oh. That could've been bad as Lefty finds the first-cut rough, but it's not awful. From 203 yards out in the rough, he hits an amazing shot that carries the water guarding the green and safely finds the dance floor. He'll have a long putt for eagle. On the walk to the 18th green, Tim Mickelson was begging his brother to let him use his first swear word of the day, but Phil said no. "Why not?" asked his caddie, "it's pay per view!" From 32 feet with a big break to win The Match, Phil misses to 3 feet. Tiger tells him to pick it up. We're gong back to the 18th tee.
All-square after 18, Phil up $400k ($800k raised total).
Hole 17 - Par 3
Phil: He could close it out here, and his shot is just about perfect, inside 20-feet short and left of the hole. He *just* misses the putt and because Tiger made his, we're all even going in to 18.
Tiger: Alright Eldrick, with $9 million on the line, whatcha got? From 150 yards out (on the GORGEOUS par 3 17th) Tiger goes a little long, but it was right at the flag. He's on the fringe, but it's definitely got a chance. Of course it goes in. Tiger goes full-Tiger and chips in for birdie off the fringe. Classic Tiger. Classic fist-pump.
All-square thru 17, Phil up $400k.
Hole 16 - Par 5
So ... sunset comes in around 56 minutes and we've still got three holes left. If it goes to extra holes and it's too dark to play, what do they do? Flip a coin for $9 million?
Phil: Is that Lefty or Bubba Watson?! "That's a tasty little morsel there" says Phil, who smashed a driver with a ton of action. That was impressive. While he walks to his ball, Phil and his brother, Tim (his caddie), were talking about ... Oregon football? With $9 million on the line! Another big swing for Phil here and it lands left of the green, but much closer than Tiger. Phil flies this one high, but it's too high, landing in the rough and riding down a hill, coming to rest 20-plus feet from the hole. Think he got too cute there. Not a bad putt from there, coming up a foot or two short. Par.
Tiger: Tiger's driver is solid here, but not as far as Phil by about 10-15 yards. His second shot had a ton of left-to-right movement, but ultimately finds a bunker. His shot from the bunker came out hot, but it's pretty solid. He'll be inside 15-feet for birdie to get back to even with Phil. Tiger doesn't play enough break and misses left. Par.
Phil 1-up thru 16, up $400k.
Hole 15 - Par 4
Phil: Lefty pipes an iron down the fairway here. B-e-a-utiful shot. His approach misses left into gallery, pin-high. He didn't have a lot of green to work with, but that doesn't matter for Phil. With is club face WIDE open, Lefty hit a great shot that trickles within a few inches of the cup for a gimme birdie.
Tiger: STINGER ALERT! Tiger hits his patented, low-flying stinger shot perfectly down the center of the fairway 318 yards. This is fun. Tiger follows up a great shot with a, well, not-so-great shot, coming up short in the rough in front of the green. Tiger's chip looked good off the face but rolled long and left. He's got a lot left to clean up his par or else he'll go 1-down. And that's exactly what happened.
Phil 1-up thru 15, up $400k.
Hole 14 - Par 4
Our man on the ground points out there's a definite edge growing, both among the players and in the crowd. It all felt like a bit of fun at the start, they're certainly gunning for the $9 million and the bragging now. There's a long drive side bet here for $100k.
Phil: His drive finds the bunker, meaning all Tiger needs to do is hit the fairway to win the bet. "Anything you can do I can do better" says Lefty with his shot, which lands inside Tiger's, but takes a skip forward. Another putt misses for Phil. He just can't seem to figure out the speed and/or break here today.
Tiger: Well, Tiger blew this bet, too. He's in the bunker real close to Phil. "Proper golf shot" says Darren Clarke on the broadcast as Tiger's 9-iron from the sand lands behind the cup and trickles back to within 10 feet. From 9-feet and change Tiger just misses right.
All-square thru 14, Phil up $400k.
Hole 13 - Par 3
Another "closest to the pin" side bet for $300k. Tiger's lost the first two of these bets.
Tiger: Useful 6-iron here for Tiger on the difficult par 3, just barely catching a ridge to get to 15-feet. His putt didn't break like he thought, setting up a par.
Phil: Another great shot from Lefty here, winning his third "closest to the pin" challenge after his ball rolled to 9 feet perfectly playing the contour of the green. He tells his caddie (and brother) "I got it" as he was reading the birdie putt, which had the perfect pace and drops.
All-square thru 13, Phil up $400k.
Hole 12 - Par 4
Tiger: BOOM! Tiger smoked a drive 321 yards right at the green. Tiger flips a little wedge to about 2-feet for a gimme birdie.
Phil: A little conservative here from Lefty as his 3-wood finds the right fairway, giving him a bad angle at the green which features a right pin-placement. He hit his approach dead straight, which finds the center of the green, but is still a ways away from the cup. He gave this putt a ride but misses long and right.
Tiger 1-up, Phil up $100k.
Hole 11 - Par 4
It's a short par 4, and as Ernie Johnson pointed out on the broadcast, there's only been one ace on No. 11 at Shadow Creek: Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. Another side bet for an eagle here, this time for $200k.
Phil: The tee shot here misses bad for Phil (door creaking sound). Phil flopped his pitch and it took a bad kick to the left. 12-feet for Phil to halve the hole and keep his 1-up lead, but misses right. Par.
Tiger: The Big Cat went for this one and landed it on the green, but it just trickled off. He's got a lot of green to work with to get this close. Great shot from Tiger who lets this one run along the green to inside 5-feet. Phil tells him to pick it up for birdie.
All-square thru 11, Phil up $100k.
Hole 10 - Par 4
Phil: Driver for Lefty and he's way out here, 300-plus yards in the fairway. Phil's approach is about 20-plus feet away with a downhill break. It moves a bit more than he imagined and misses right. Phil was left to make a 3-footer for par for the halve.
Tiger: Eldrick let out a subtle swear word despite his ball finding the middle of the fairway, but he's nowhere near Phil. Tiger got up-and-down, getting a "good work, T" from Phil. Par.
Phil 1-up at the turn, up $100k.
Hole 9 - Par 4
They made a $100k side bet if someone holes-out for an eagle (it's a forgiving pin-placement). BUT WAIT. They upped the bet "another 0," and it's now $1,000,000 for an eagle.
Phil: Lefty goes iron off the tee at No. 9 and this one flirts with the creek, meaning he SMASHED it. He's in a prime spot here. Million dollar shot turns into million dollar flop as Lefty comes up short in the bunker. Known for his short-game, Phil almost holed-out his chip, just missing by a few inches.
Tiger: A good iron for Tiger here. Not as far as Phil, but he's in the fairway. His approach is nowhere near the pin, but he's on the green. He gave it a ride and missed, but he's got a good look at par. Tiger converts the two-putt par.
Phil 1-up at the turn, up $100k.
On the broadcast, Charles Barkley was critical of the "bad golf" being played, saying "I know I'm not good, but I can beat these two today."
Hole 8 - Par 3
Another side bet! $200k for a "closest to the pin." The two also did a 3:2 odds bet on making their birdie putts, Tiger winning $75k if he made it, Phil winning $50k.
Tiger: For the first time today, Tiger gets the honor off the tee. He landed this one about a foot too short on the green and it rolled back a bit. That'll hurt his wallet if Phil doesn't get it inside 40 feet. He left his birdie putt way too short, opening the door for Phil to take back the lead (and some more money). His par putt had too much pace, hitting the right edge and missing. Bogey.
Phil: Lefty did the same exact thing as his ball rolls towards Tiger's. It stops *just short*, about 2 feet inside Tiger. That's another $200k for Phil. His putt goes as long as Tiger's was short. No more money exchanged with the miss. From 5-feet, Phil sinks the par putt to re-claim the lead.
Phil 1-up thru 8, up $100k.
Hole 7 - Par 5
Before we get to the action on at 7, here's Justin Thomas' early thoughts on The Match.
He's not wrong, folks. Tiger tried to coax Phil into a bet, but Lefty didn't take it without any extra odds, saying he was at too-much of a disadvantage. Plenty of people have cut ahead to grab spots on later holes as the back-nine approaches. Our Martin Rogers notes it's 1:37 p.m. in Las Vegas, and there's plenty of tasteful drunkenness in the gallery.
Phil: Phil's tee shot found the first cut rough, and his second shot wasn't any better. He went for the green but came up short, this time finding a bunker. Jungle to Jungle was a great movie, but bunker to bunker is a bad way to play for Phil. His third found a bunker about 10 yards in front. Not good. He had to chip-in from the bunker to halve the hole, but alas he does not.
Tiger: Tiger smoked his drive, his best shot off the day. His second, 40 yards ahead of Phil, missed right and is just off the green. Tiger's putt from off the green was about as good as possible without going in. He cards the birdie to even the match.
All-square thru 7. Tiger up $100k.
Hole 6 - Par 4
Phil: Another great shot off the tee for Phil. He's dominating this match early on. "Come on baby" says Phil as his approach shot goes long, but perfectly funnels back towards the hole. Useful shot from Lefty there setting up a birdie chance. After Tiger's miss, Phil had a chance to take a 2-up lead with a birdie and he left it short. Par.
Tiger: Cart golf for the boys as Tiger's drive goes just a few yards past Phil. Tiger plays his shot short and rolls it towards the green, about the same distance away for birdie. "Blocked it" says Tiger, who misses a little long and right. Another 4-footer to save par for Tiger and he cashes it. Another halve.
Phil 1-up thru 6. Tiger up $100k.
Hole 5 - Par 3
And we have our first side bet! Phil and Tiger are doing "closest to the pin" on the first par 3 for $100,000.
Phil: Not too shabby here from Lefty, getting this one to 7-feet. He wins the "closest to the pin," but is still down $100k in bets. He lightly tapped his putt but left it short. Blown chance their for Phil who picks up for par.
Tiger: He's on the green, but nowhere near 7-feet. "That is so bad," he says standing on the tee box. Tiger was a mile away on the green here and he lags this to inside 5-feet. He drops the putt for another halve.
Phil 1-up thru 5. Tiger up $100k.
If the gallery looks light for the next couple of holes you can blame the 4th green refreshment tent, stocked with fresh gourmet tacos and enough free beer to populate a fraternity party.
Hole 4 - Par 5
Phil: Driver is useful here for Phil, and he may just have the green-light to go for this one in two. A 2-iron from 253-yards out runs short of the green into the rough, just missing a bunker. Phil told Tiger his putt was good, but he elected to putt. Tiger disagreed, good-good and they're both in for birdie.
Tiger: "No" said Tiger after contact, as this drive lands in the fairway but runs right into the gallery. His second shot comes up well-short in the first-cut rough, 107 yards from the green. He stuffs his third short right next to the cup for a great birdie chance, should be a gimme and it is. Birdie.
Phil 1-up thru 4. Tiger up $200k
Hole 3 - Par 4
Phil: First driver of the day and Phil crushed this one down the fairway. His approach "came off low and spinning" and lands left of the cup, around 20-feet away. "Dive, dive, dive" he says as his putt just slides by left. Par.
Tiger: The Big Cat pulls driver as well, but misses right. 165-yards to the green on a hill in the rough, Tiger planned on leaving this short and it is. His chip gets up and close, right around the same distance from where he missed on No. 2. Par (but this one rolls around the cup, too).
Phil 1-up thru 3. Tiger up $200k
Hole 2 - Par 4
Phil: Another iron for Lefty right down the middle off the tee. The second shot misses a little right, but he's just off the green, pin-high. Known for his short game, Phil's chip ran long and left, leaving a difficult 4-footer for par, which he converted.
Tiger: Tiger's 3-wood goes a bit further, also in the fairway. The door was open for Tiger, who flew his approach off the back of the green. It's a back pin-placement, so no real harm with Phil also off the green. Tiger left his chip short, and then lipped-out his 3-footer for par. He was reaching into the cup before it kicked out. Yikes. Bogey.
Phil 1-up thru 2
Hole 1 - Par 4
Cupcakes and muffins are neatly arranged on a table by the first tee box, just in case Tiger or Phil - or anyone else - gets hungry. As if we didn't already eat enough yesterday. Phil won the coin toss - and took the coin after - and will get us started here on No. 1.
With $200,000 on the line here at the first tee, Phil ripped a 2-iron down the right-center of the fairway. Woods followed suit with an iron of his own, dead straight, but it ran through the fairway and just into the rough.
As they walked towards their balls, the two talked about how "cool" Samuel L. Jackson is, marveled at the course, and even talked about how special it is for their kids to join them.
Tiger's second shot nestles up just short of the cup, setting up a great look at birdie. Phil's landed just inside of Tiger, but rolled a bit left. They're both inside 10 feet.
"Didn't break" said Tiger, who missed just right. Phil's didn't either.
"That hurts the pocket," said Tiger with a grin. All-square thru 1, except in the wallet, where Tiger's now plus $200,000.
Fun fact: two Taiwanese businessmen gambled $2,000 with each other on the hole, as well.
Pre-match
No tickets were made available for sale but around 400 people are on the grounds and will follow the match, many of them through affiliation with either sponsor Capital One or broadcaster TNT/BR Live.
Woods showed up to Shadow Creek at 8:56 a.m. local time, with Mickelson arriving just over an hour later at 9:53 a.m. The trash talk began on the putting green, with Tiger showing up in his classic Sunday red.
"You decided to go with red today?" asked Mickelson.
Woods' response to Lefty, who is wearing his signature all-black: "Black's very slimming."
Both Woods and Mickelson were fiddling with the mic sound pack on the back of their trousers during their putting sessions. Could be a comfort issue and will likely take some getting used to.
Read Again Brow https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2018/11/23/match-tracker-tiger-woods-phil-mickelson/2093430002/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The Match: Tracking the $9 million match between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods"
Post a Comment