THE MATCH Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Next ‘Match’ set: Super Bowl champs Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce to face NBA’s Steph Curry, Klay Thompson

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 04 May 2023 07:31:07 +0000

Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes react to Kelce making a putt for an eagle on the 18th hole during Round 1 of the 2022 American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Nevada. Isaiah Vazquez/Clarkson Creative

The next edition of The Match will not include a professional golfer but it will include four of the biggest names in professional sports.

Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will face Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on June 23 at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

All four men are current champions of their respective sports. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl back in February, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35. Mahomes was named the Most Valuable Player.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals last year to capture the title. Curry was MVP. The Warriors are now in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers and lost Game 1, 117-112, on Tuesday. Curry scored 27 points and Thompson scored 25.

This will be the eighth playing of The Match, the last one played in Florida in December under the lights when Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas topped Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. This also marks the second time that the four participants will be from outside the world of golf, and the second time that Mahomes and Curry are competing. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers beat Mahomes and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen last year at Wynn Golf Club. Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley beat Curry and Peyton Manning three years ago in Arizona.

The first iteration of The Match came back in 2018 when Phil Mickelson beat Woods in extra holes at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Woods has participated in three of the seven, including in 2020 when he teamed with Manning to beat Mickelson and Brady at Medalist Golf Club in South Florida.

The post Next ‘Match’ set: Super Bowl champs Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce to face NBA’s Steph Curry, Klay Thompson appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

This is both the wackiest and greatest par in the history of The Match

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 10:21:14 +0000

By Drew Powell
If there was any doubt as to whether The Match under the lights was a serious exhibition amongst the world’s best or a “hit and giggle,” it was quickly settled on the fourth hole at Pelican Golf Club, that dubbed the One-Club Challenge.

After making a few early birdies, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth arrived at the par 4 with a 2-up lead. On the fourth, players were allowed to select just one club to use for the entire hole and no two players could choose the same club. As intended, the challenge produced some of the craziest shots (and breaks) we’ve seen.

Spieth grabbed 4-iron, JT selected 5-wood, Rory McIlroy took 3-iron and Tiger Woods … well he initially declined to admit the club of choice (later admitting it was a 5-iron).

After the first three got off the tee, Woods proceeded to aim about 50 yards right of the fairway, slinging a massive hook back in play as if it was the obligatory trick shot at the end of a clinic.

McIlroy found a divot in the middle of the fairway off the tee and attempted a high fade with his 3-iron, which he caught heavy, finding the trees short and left of the green.

Friends helping friends ?@JustinThomas34 makes an impressive two-putt with a 5-wood with an assist from @JordanSpieth pic.twitter.com/aY7gON87al

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2022

The wackiness had only begun. Playing his approach from the fairway, Thomas air-mailed the green with his 5-wood and his ball was bounding towards a water hazard before catching the seat of a stray golf cart and promptly stopping — in what was perhaps the break of the year.

While Rory assessed his third from the pine straw short of the green — which he had to play with his 3 iron — analyst Trevor Immelman asked him if he had a shot. “I actually do,” McIlroy said, before remembering his required club and adding “If I didn’t have a 3-iron, I would.” Taking the straight-faced iron off the pine straw, McIlroy came up short of the green with his third.

Meanwhile, Thomas — fresh off his miracle break — enlisted Spieth and on-course reporter Kathryn Tappen to lift the wiring that was between him and the hole for his third shot. With nice touch with the 5-wood from about 10 yards off the green, Thomas ran it up the slope to about four feet for par.

With team Woods and McIlroy in for five, Thomas faced what would typically be a straightforward four-footer to take a commanding 3-up lead in the 12-hole match. Yielding 5-wood, Thomas stepped in, saying “I’m not gonna lie. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable over a putt in my life.” With the greens rolling 13 on the Stimpmeter, Thomas barely touched the putt and rolled it in to secure both the wackiest and greatest par in The Match history.

The hole was, in a word, chaotic, yet showcased the shot-making that makes these guys the best in the world. Safe to say, the one-club challenge will continue in future editions of The Match.

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Clearly limping at The Match, Tiger Woods has a long way to go if he is ever to compete at the top again

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 09:54:38 +0000

By Christopher Powers
Upon first sight of Tiger Woods on Saturday night at Pelican Golf Club, things seemed pretty dire. Ninety minutes before balls were in the air, Woods was literally using a golf club as a cane as he made his way to the press conference, where he, partner Rory McIlroy and their opponents Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth fielded a number of fan questions.

Yes, we knew he had plantar fasciitis. We knew, in his words, that he “couldn’t walk”, hence his withdrawal from last week’s Hero World Challenge. But still, even with the aid of a golf cart at the seventh iteration of The Match, this did not look like a man who was in any physical shape to compete at a high level. His late arrival to the range and noticeable limp everywhere he walked screamed: “I’m still not quite ready for this.”

And yet, he tried anyway. He gutted it out. He grimaced and he grinded through it. That’s what he’s always done, and Saturday night was no different.

And then, he birdied the opening hole! Never mind that it was a 310-yard par 4 that all the guys nearly drove. He was one under through one. The fun didn’t last much longer, however, with Thomas and Spieth grabbing control at the second and never letting go, eventually closing out a hobbled Woods and a rusty Rory on the 10th hole of the scheduled 12-hole affair.

Here are some observations from The Match:

Tiger Woods has a way to go

I realise we sort of just covered this, but it was the biggest takeaway from Saturday night by far. He was nowhere near ready, but given the weight of this made-for-TV commitment, Woods sort of ‘had’ to be here. Obviously, the cart was likely the deciding factor in him actually giving it a go, just like it will be at next week’s PNC Championship (well, Charlie dying to play is a big factor, too). But, man, this is a dude in some serious, serious pain. It’s still thrilling to see him peg it in person or on the couch, but you have to wonder if it’s even worth it anymore. Yes, there were highlights like the birdie at one, some vintage iron shot-club twirl combos on the par 3s, and he even stepped on a driver on the long-drive hole, coming up just short of Thomas’ nuke. But Woods still couldn’t buy a putt (a common theme as he continues to age) and it all just looked like much more of a struggle than it should be. Given how he performed in the three events he actually played in this past year and given how he looks now, it’s hard to imagine Tiger completing a 72-hole tournament any time in the near or even semi-distant future. Knowing him, he’ll turn up at Augusta National and try to gut it out, but it’s going to become less and less fun watching him do so in so much pain when the reward might be a top-40 finish.

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were made for made-for-TV

Let’s be clear: These events will never provide the completely unfiltered, NSFW-material we all hope for, but with the right personalities they can still produce the goods. That’s what Thomas and Spieth brought to the table on Saturday night, in addition to playing some pretty good golf:

JT with the shrug after sinking this putt ?‍#CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/BvCOTqL62a

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2022

These two seemed to embrace the fun element straight from the get-go. They both seemed to accept it for what it is — you and your close buddy trying to have as much fun as possible while also hitting some world-class golf shots and remaining as competitive as ever. Woods and McIlroy, meanwhile, appeared a little more stiff, literally and figuratively. This was never a fair fight, and Thomas and Spieth — fittingly both in LIV-style shorts while the other two wore pants — seemed to have entertained enough to be pencilled in for the next one of these.

These are “made-for-TV” in every sense of the phrase

Between the Las Vegas Match with the four NFL quarterbacks and this one, it’s abundantly clear that these made-for-TV events are … made-for-TV. Yes, it sounds very Captain Obvious-y, but these events are borderline impossible to follow in person, and there were a lot of people at this one trying to follow it. With only four players zooming from shot to shot in their carts, non-stop commercials halting the actually crisp pace of play, and the way they set up the course like a maze to get the best 12 holes on television, it’s not the best on-site experience (it took me until Thomas was putting with his 5-wood to realise that was the one-club challenge hole). But it’s not supposed to be — hence, the made-for-TV label.

Not Rory’s best showing

After the season he had, there’s no sense in calling him out for meh play in an exhibition match. But yeah, it almost felt like he wasn’t even there at times. Tiger is Tiger, so he’ll always command 95 per cent of the attention, but it felt like the other five per cent almost belonged exclusively to JT and Spieth. Again, it was tough to follow in person, but it sure seemed like McIlroy didn’t say, or do, much that caught anyone’s eye. That tends to happen when you go 3-down through four, though.

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Everything you need to know about The Match under the lights at Pelican Golf Club

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 06:42:20 +0000

Oisin Keniry/R&A

By Christopher Powers
Despite his latest health-related setback, Tiger Woods will play golf this Saturday. We repeat: Tiger Woods will play golf this Saturday.

And while it’s not in a real-deal, 72-hole tournament, it will be Woods like you’ve never seen him before—under the lights, in primetime, alongside teammate Rory McIlroy and the opposing two-man squad of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. It will be the seventh iteration of Capital One’s The Match, a series of made-for-TV match-play events that has previously featured Woods facing off with longtime rival Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka going head-to-head amid their “beef,” and, in the most recent edition, NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers teaming up to defeat Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Match.

The teams

The two-man teams for The Match are World No. 1 McIlroy and 15-time major champion Woods versus reigning PGA champion Thomas and three-time major winner Spieth.

The format

The format is best ball, meaning each player on each team plays his own ball throughout the round and lowest score of the two players counts as the team score on each hole. For example, if Woods makes a 4 and McIlroy a 3, McIlroy’s 3 is their score for the hole. The team with the lowest score on a hole wins that hole. It is only a 12-hole match, which means if one team takes a 3-up lead after 10 holes, the match is over.

How to watch

Coverage will begin live on TNT at 6 p.m. ET, on Saturday. Simulcasts also will be available on TBS, TruTV and HLN, in addition to expansive content available across Bleacher Report’s platforms leading up to and during the competition. Programming will begin with “The Conversation presented by Deloitte,” a roundtable discussion with Woods, McIlroy, Thomas and Spieth hosted by Brian Anderson, who will be calling all the action along with NBA legend Charles Barkley, former Masters winner Trevor Immelman and sports reporter Kathryn Tappen. Preview coverage for The Match will begin immediately after the roundtable discussion at 6:30 p.m. ET.

For fans looking to check in even earlier, the “Hot Seat Press Conference” will be available at 5:30 p.m. ET on the Bleacher Report app. It will be hosted by former tour pro Smylie Kaufman feature questions field from fans across Bleacher Report’s social channels and the B/R app.

The location

The Match is being held at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., which has hosted the LPGA’s Pelican Women’s Championship for the past three years. Sei Young Kim won the inaugural edition of the event in 2020, while Nelly Korda has won the tournament in each of the last two seasons, including this past November’s edition, which was shortened to 54 holes due to Tropical Storm Nicole.

The course was originally designed by Donald Ross in 1925 and recently restored in 2019 by Beau Welling and his team to reflect Ross’ original vision. Like many Ross courses, Pelican is quite forgiving off the tee but is defended by the small, undulating greens.

The charity

All four golfers will make a series of donations via special challenges to Hurricane Ian relief efforts after the devastating effects of the late-September storm on the Gulf Coast and its surrounding communities.

The challenges

There will be five special challenges that will generate donations from the players. On the third hole will be a closest-to-the-hole competition sponsored by DraftKings Sportsbook for up to $1.1 million. At the ninth hole there will be another closest-to-the-hole challenge sponsored by UnitedHealthcare for up to $1.1 million. There also will be a one-club challenge (every player can only use one club on the entire hole) at the fourth, which is sponsored by Capital One, for up to $750,000. Finally, there will be two hole-in-one challenges at the fifth and eighth holes, one sponsored by USAA Insurance and one by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. If an ace is made on either hole, $2.5 million will be donated on the team’s behalf, and if no hole-in-one is made, $250,000 will be donated on behalf of the team that wins the hole.

The weather

The forecast for Saturday evening calls for temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s with clear skies early and the possibility of a few clouds later on. Winds will be light and there is a less than 10 per cent chance of precipitation.

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The Match officially set: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy v Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth under the lights in Florida

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 06:08:01 +0000

By Joel Beall
The reports are finally official: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will face Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the latest iteration of ‘The Match’ on December 10 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.

The four superstars committed to the exhibition series, which will be held for the seventh time and second in 2022 after a duel between NFL quarterbacks was contested in June. It will be broadcast on TNT and is scheduled to start at 6pm under the lights, with the match going 12 holes. The format has not been announced, but it is widely expected to be better-ball match play. Proceeds will support Hurricane Ian relief efforts.

This will be Woods’ third appearance in ‘The Match’, participating in the inaugural event against Phil Mickelson in November of 2018 and returning in 2020 to team up with Peyton Manning to take down Mickelson and Tom Brady in a charity challenge in the nascent days of the pandemic. This will be the first appearances for McIlroy, Spieth and Thomas, although Thomas did work at the aforementioned 2020 charity match as a commentator. Woods, McIlroy and Thomas were a part of a similar exhibition in September 2020 to show off Payne’s Valley Golf Club, the first public-access golf course designed by Woods’ TGR Design firm, as well as raise money for the Payne Family Foundation.

Woods made three official starts in 2022 in his return from a February 2021 car crash, making the cut at both the Masters and PGA Championship while possibly saying goodbye to the Old Course at the Open Championship. McIlroy won three times last season, highlighted by capturing the FedEx Cup, with Thomas grabbing the PGA Championship for the second time in his career with a playoff triumph at Southern Hills. Spieth won the RBC Heritage and is coming off a 5-0-0 record in an American victory at the Presidents Cup.

Woods and McIlroy recently partnered for a new venture called TGL and are launching a tech-infused team golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour, but that endeavor is not believed to have any relation with the exhibition.

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Mahomes shines, Rodgers comes up clutch (again) and four other takeaways from best ‘The Match’ yet

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 10:07:27 +0000

By Christopher Powers
It’s not unfair to say that the first five iterations of ‘The Match’ were a bit … underwhelming. Which is not to say that each didn’t have its moments. Tiger and Phil going 22 holes at Shadow Creek over Thanksgiving weekend in 2018. Tom Brady ripping his pants and holing out from the fairway at Medalist in 2020. Charles Barkley actually winning in a golf event a few months later. Aaron Rodgers shining in Montana in 2021. Brooks and Bryson finally putting an end to whatever it was they wanted to put an end to last autumn.

But each of the previous made-for-TV events all lacked a little something all the best sporting events have: juice. Juice is unquantifiable. It doesn’t spit out in a statistical model. It’s just one of those things you know exists when you actually feel it.

Make no mistake, the sixth edition of The Match, this one featuring Brady and Rodgers again (on the same team, this time) against Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, had plenty of juice. This was glaringly evident when, after missing a rather lengthy putt that Brady knew he needed to halve a hole, he let out a gutteral “OH NO” that you would expect to only hear after a backbreaking pick six on a sultry Monday night in Miami. It was equally evident when his teammate walked in the winning birdie putt on the 12th hole and celebrated like he just clinched his billionth NFC North division title.

It also helped, immensely, that there were real, live, actual fans at the Wynn Golf Club, a feature the prior five matches did not have due to either limited, VIP-type invitations and/or COVID restrictions. The Match VI faced neither of those challenges, and it made for an unforgettable atmosphere in Las Vegas.

Here are six takeaways from by far the best The Match.

Patrick Mahomes was stunningly good

Keep in mind when we say “stunningly,” what we mean is we thought Mahomes would definitely be the worst of the four, and possibly downright bad. Yes, he’s an athletic freak of nature who has had some solid swing videos make the social-media rounds before, and he had teed it up in Tahoe last year, but this was going to be an entirely different arena. The shamble format alleviates some of the pressure, but once you select the better of the tee shots it’s on you from there. There’s no hiding, and you better be good throughout your bag, especially considering he wasn’t getting any shots.

Mahomes was plenty good throughout his bag, displaying the ability to mash the driver, showing off some deft touch around the greens and making multiple clutch putts that kept he and Josh Allen in it. It quickly became clear we’d all underestimated Mahomes’ recent work with former PGA Tour player Hank Kuehne and his brother Trip down in Texas. During a Zoom call with a number of media members last week, Mahomes credited the Kuehne brothers with helping him rein in the big stick and with helping him dial it in on the greens. Whatever he’s paying them (we have no idea if he’s paying them) it ain’t enough. That man CARRIED Allen around the golf course on Wednesday, when the prevailing thought was that the exact opposite would occur.

Mahomes had to take a lap after this chip shot ? #CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/AGwwKQOtDY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 2, 2022

The fans added an entirely new element

This was mentioned in the opening but bears repeating: each of the first five matches were seriously underwhelming in the buzz department, mostly a product of COVID. That was not the case for Brady/Rodgers vs Mahomes/Allen, who obviously brought out the exact type of fan needed to give these events some much-needed pop: NFL fans.

Right from the moment all four gunslingers arrived at the makeshift range at the Wynn, you could feel this was going to be different. Bills Mafia was out in full force (those people travel well), and they serenaded Brady with a “Let’s go Buffalo!” song (to the tune of ‘Shout’) while he made his way to the practice area. Everywhere you looked someone had on one of the four QB’s jerseys. And because this was golf and not an NFL stadium, fans could get extremely close to their heroes, and many times the fan reaction to being that close was what I’d imagine the reaction was to Elvis Presley simply existing back in his day. These four dudes are absolute rockstars and are treated as such, though they received their fair share of trash talk as well. The type of trash talk that most PGA Tour pros would hear and promptly call security to have the culprits removed from the premises. Brady? He’s heard much worse over the last two decades as king. Rodgers? He welcomed that type of vitriol in Chicago last season by screaming “I OWN YOU” to Bears fans after a touchdown scamper. Allen and Mahomes are probably still getting used to it, but they handled it just fine. It was a mini-NFL environment in a golf setting, and it was electric.

Tom Brady is the ultimate salesman

No athlete has ever reminded me as much of Phil Mickelson as TB12 did on Wednesday. Constantly smiling and thumbs-upping people to death. “Thanks for coming out,” to everyone that screamed his name. Just the word “BRADY” on his golf shirt. TB12 logo in plain sight at all times, be it on his gigantic Yeti water bottle or the front of his hat, which he wore backwards for about three holes up until the final hole when it turned it back forward knowing there would be maximum eyeballs on the tense par-3 tee that decided the match. It makes sense given his entire social-media presence revolves around selling product, but it’s still so wild to see in person. It’s hard to tell if he’s a real human at times, but he reminds you that he very much is when he’s hitting bad golf shots. Brady hates nothing more than hitting bad golf shots, because hitting bad golf shots means you are losing, and losing is not something Brady does all that often and when he does he does not handle it well. It’s at his lowest points when he’s the most relatable, and those points usually only come when he’s holding a golf club in his hands.

"Some tip you gave me."

Brady had to call out the crew this shot ? #CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/w4hf5nBshn

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 2, 2022

People are not afraid to get hit by a golf ball, apparently

Nowhere was the phrase “common sense is not common” more apparent than at the Wynn Golf Club on Wednesday evening. Because people with common sense would understand that these professional quarterbacks are not professional golfers, meaning you are in the line of fire basically anywhere that isn’t behind them when they are addressing a golf ball. All four guys can move it well on their best swings, but their bad swings are just like the rest of ours, which leads us to the question: Would you stand two yards off the fairway just 20 yards ahead if you or your buddy were on the tee box? The answer (I hope) is no. Brady knows this, and he implored the fans to spread out on the second tee, telling them “guys, that’s really dangerous” multiple times, to no avail. Then, he promptly line-drived one down the left side that could have killed someone but fortunately did not. Turns out, that was one of the few tee shots that didn’t hit someone. It was an absolute shooting gallery, though most folks didn’t care. In fact, I actually heard multiple people wish they were the ones who got struck by the Aaron Rodgers block fade. With the right mix of Vegas sun and refreshments, it’s probably a pain-free experience anyway.

That Aaron Rodgers is quite clutch after all

The haters will tell you Rodgers has shrunk in many a big moment since his lone Super Bowl victory, but there was no such shrinking on the golf course. The now four-time MVP was the sneaky MVP on Wednesday, making a birdie on the first to go 1 up and picking up an insanely clutch birdie at the ninth that was just to halve the hole. And finally, with the match on the line, draining a birdie to avoid a closest to the pin playoff and walking it in in style:

A-Rod for the WIN! ? #CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/et3paek5DB

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 2, 2022

It’s not fair to say he dragged Brady to victory, because Brady did make a huge birdie late in the match that tied it back up, but Rodgers was the steadying force the entire day. He pounds the ball with his driver and consistently strikes his irons well, while Brady has trouble avoiding some big misses and the odd shank or chunk. Rodgers does nothing of that sort, and he expects to make the shot or the putt, just like he expects to fit the ball into that tight window that only he can fit it into. As a result, he’s 2-0 in these matches and has seemingly played a massive role in both victories. He likes to play down just how good he is, which is clearly by design.

The Match was really fun and there should (will) be more just like it

At the risk of repeating everything I’ve already written, I’ll just keep it simple: this match, the one without any PGA Tour professionals, was by far the most fun one yet. It still has some work to do in the format/organisation department, but that matters little when you get the right mix of personalities like this one had and the addition of some rabid fans who would have no idea how to act at an actual professional golf event but can get away with acting like that in this setting. Vegas seems to be the ideal location for these, as fans will have no issue making a trip out of it to see their guys up close and personal, not to mention the fact that Vegas is pretty good at hosting this type of stuff. The hard golf fan may continue to resist, but maybe these just aren’t for the hard golf fan. Judging by the social-media reaction, this one attracted the exact crowd that golf doesn’t have and so desperately needs, so there’s no other way to view it than as a positive.

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WATCH: No way! Tom Brady did not make a hole-in-one in that viral video (which may or may not be real)

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 26 May 2022 09:58:15 +0000

By Christopher Powers

Tom Brady is no stranger to having his every move dissected on the internet. Whether it be a 3rd-and-4 incompletion, or a video of him stumbling around while celebrating another Super Bowl, he understands people are going to break it down frame-by-frame.

So it came as no surprise when a video of Brady making a “hole-in-one” began making the rounds, social media pounced on it. “Fake!” they cried. “This looks edited to me,” they yelled. “Just retire already!!!” they screamed (that last one might be made up, although we’re all thinking it).

Upon first viewing, it does seem like the criticisms have merit, however:

This is why you film every shot on the course…

?: @ari_fararooy + @ShadowLion pic.twitter.com/h9QrbLKOmu

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 25, 2022

The first thing to note is that the reaction seems very genuine, which means A: He did hole this shot out, which wouldn’t be out of the question considering he’s done something similar on live TV before, or B: He and everyone in the video are really good actors, which is also not out of the question given TB12’s blossoming social media presence.

The second thing to note is that Brady does not refer to this as a hole-in-one, as many others did online. During a Zoom call for The Match, Brady also confirmed that this was no ace.

“It’s not a hole-in-one, because it wasn’t really a par 3,” Brady said. “We were in the middle of the fairway on a par 4, and I would have had to play the whole round for it to be a real hole-in-one. It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t a hole-in-one unfortunately. I can’t claim that.”

Honest man, though he did not confirm nor deny if the video is real in anyway at all. Based off the 26-27-second mark of the video, it sure seems deceptively edited, which seems to be the case with many of Brady’s made-for-Instagram clips. Like this one, for example:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady)

Or this one, which he posted ahead of the last iteration of The Match he was a part of:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady)

What we do know for sure is that Brady has an excellent team of social media people that knows how to rack up the views, although it’s pretty easy to rack up views when you’re Tom Brady. It doesn’t help the “this is a real video” case when he’s hawking merch underneath the video, which just so happened to have over 1.5 million views:

Shop the outfit now! https://t.co/Bx0UnTMRJr pic.twitter.com/FLwfnGyMRQ

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 25, 2022

Cha ching. Not even trying to hide it. You almost have to respect it. Good news for the haters is that next Wednesday, when the lights go on and Brady and Aaron Rodgers take on Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, there will be no deceptive editing of any sort to hide behind. Knowing Brady, he’ll show up and show out, and everyone on the internet will have their eye on his every move, as always.

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The post WATCH: No way! Tom Brady did not make a hole-in-one in that viral video (which may or may not be real) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers to face Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in next installment of ‘The Match’

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 05:33:49 +0000

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Stacy Revere

By Joel Beall
Reigning All-Pro quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will take on fellow NFL superstars Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the next installment of ‘The Match’.

The Turner Sports exhibition will take place on Wednesday, June 1 at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas. The Wynn previously hosted the last iteration of The Match in November, with Brooks Koepka defeating Brooks DeChambeau in a 12-hole battle.

Like previous versions of The Match, players will be mic’d up during competition, allowing viewers to hear the chatter inside the ropes and facilitate banter between the broadcast crew and players during the event. The 12-hole challenge format from the Koepka-DeChambeau bout will also return.

This will be Brady’s third appearance in The Match. He previously played alongside Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning in the ‘Champions For Charity’ event at Medalist in Hobe Sound, Florida in May 2020 and returned last July to team up with Mickelson in a losing effort against DeChambeau and Rodgers at the Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champ, returned from a short retirement this offseason and will be entering his 23rd year in the NFL this autumn.

This will be Rodgers’ second Match outing following his aforementioned victory in Big Sky last summer, while both Mahomes and Allen will be making their Match debuts. Combined the four gunslingers have won nine Super Bowls and made 86 playoff appearances.

This is the sixth edition of The Match, which has raised nearly $33 million for various charitable endeavors.

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Brooks Koepka quite enjoyed destroying Bryson DeChambeau in The Match

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 02:02:28 +0000

David Becker
Brooks Koepka (left) and Bryson DeChambeau shake hands on the ninth green after Koepka won The Match.

By Dan Rapaport
Advantage, Brooksy. If a sporting conflict can only be properly settled on the field of competition, we have no option but to deem Mr. Koepka the winner of the beef that dominated golf discourse in 2021. The four-time major winner—whose eye roll tweeted ‘round the world threw gasoline on a simmering mutual disdain—embarrassed his rival with a 5-and-3 win over Bryson DeChambeau in the latest edition of The Match. Here are six takeways from a subdued affair that, if nothing else, provided some low-stakes entertainment for scores of Americans nursing a crippling food hangover.

Brooks enjoyed every single second of that

There’s little doubt that both men played up this feud with an event like this in mind, and a 12-hole made-for-TV match in Las Vegas isn’t exactly a championship test. But Koepka is freakishly competitive, and his dislike of DeChambeau is all real. All that to say: He surely relished the opportunity to absolutely bury his rival on the type of mano-y-mano stage you can’t find on the PGA Tour.

Koepka got his nose in front with a birdie on 2—which Mickelson predicted perfectly—went 2 up when DeChambeau bungled a simple up-and-in on 5, birdied 6 to take full control, then put his foot to Bryson’s throat with a birdie on 8. This was over rather quicky, which is exactly what Brooks wanted. “Not gonna lie,” he said after stuffing a clinching approach into 9, “I just wanted to spank him.”

The golfer who spoke most was neither Koepka nor DeChambeau

David Becker
Bryson DeChambeau stands on the ninth tee during The Match.

As soon as Turner announced that Phil Mickelson would be part of the broadcast crew, we knew this would be the Phil Show. Lefty is a professional scene stealer, and he clearly felt obligated to shepherd the broadcast from start to finish with a constant stream-of-consciousness dialogue. Mickelson’s humor style carries over perfectly to this format—it’s why organizers always want him involved in some capacity—and listening to him break down the intricacies of a bunker shot or why one hole sets up better for Brooks is a golf nerd’s dream. Neither Bryson nor Brooks are particularly entertaining talkers, so Phil’s presence was integral to the flow of the event.

Bryson claimed to not make excuses, but there’s ample evidence to the contrary
Bryson got boat-raced and tried his best to take it on the chin, but he couldn’t resist a couple of thinly veiled excuses. Early in the match, after misjudging a wedge shot badly, he claimed that he’s hitting his irons farther—for what it’s worth, he did look bigger than when we last saw him in competition—and thus has “no idea” how far the ball goes. He also said he hadn’t played golf in two and a half months, which is the oldest excuse in the golf book and pretty rich coming from a literal professional golfer.

Charles Barkley remains the greatest
The guy’s just a one-liner machine. Some highlights from today:

“I don’t got a college degree, but a lotta people working for me got ‘em.”

“You can’t play golf and not drink.”

On the positive effect alcohol has on his game: “I need that liquid lube.”

After Bryson and Phil riffed on brain waves and the power of a theta mindset: “That’s just breathing. Beta? We in a sorority now?”

“Yoga is just stretching. They call it yoga to charge you more. Same as analytics. Analytics is when guys want to give their son-in-law a job, so they call it analytics. It’s just statistics. They not good at sports.”

Seemingly out of nowhere: “No disrespect to Kobe or LeBron, but Michael’s the GOAT.”

David Becker
Brooks Koepka putts on the putting green before The Match.

After Koepka sealed the deal: “Get me a jet to the Auburn game faster.”

Would it be too much to ask to have him feature, for at least one segment, during the final round of a major? His humour would slice the tension in half.

The most compelling tidbits had nothing to do with the match
Two bits of the broadcast that were particularly interesting had nothing to do with the match. The first came courtesy of on-course reporter Amanda Balionis, who told the creation story for an all-time golf course favourite: the beverage cart. Apparently, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra would frequently play the course now known as the Wynn Golf Course but refused to play a full 18 unless adult beverages were available. Necessity being the mother of invention, the idea for a portable bar was born. We’re all better off for it. Thanks for your service, gents.

Koepka also told the tale of his post-Erin Hills escapades, when he, his brother, his caddie and his then-girlfriend flew to Vegas for a proper binge after his first major championship victory. In an image straight out of “The Hangover,” the U.S. Open trophy somehow ended up in the hallway outside his hotel room. That’s Rockstar stuff.

Another cool angle came when Mickelson delved into Koepka’s psyche. His read: Brooks has a preternatural ability to harness energy, positive or negative, and use it in his favour. As such, he made a conscious effort not to cross Koepka when the two played alongside one another in the final round of the PGA Championship, which Mickelson won. Lefty was unflinchingly kind and deferential. At least, that’s how he remembers it. Koepka’s account differed slightly: “He slow-played everything. Went to the bathroom every three holes. Was doing the alpha-beta thing Bryson was talking about, closing his eyes before every shot.” Whatever it was, it worked.

Let’s hope this was the end of the (manufactured) beef
The back-and-forth was always going to lead to an event like this. Now that we’ve had this event, with an unmistakably clear winner, let’s hope the very public slights are a thing of the past. It was bordering on corny before this match; continuing after they settled things on the course would be downright cringeworthy. That’s not to say this can’t blossom into a full-blown rivalry. But to do that, they must go head-to-head in a tournament of actual consequence. And the outcome can’t be decided on the ninth green.

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Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau dial up the hate machine ahead of The Match

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 10:25:52 +0000

Warren Little

By Christopher Powers
When The Match between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau was announced on October 5, it felt like poor timing. A week earlier at the Ryder Cup, the two hugged it out, Ari Gold-style. Beef squashed. Feud over. Whatever juice this thing had was squeezed out the moment these so-called enemies embraced at Whistling Straits.

In the fight game, a loss of juice like that is a death knell. Without seemingly real hatred between both parties, the interest level from a fan’s perspective is almost non-existent. That’s not ideal for a made-for-TV event on the Friday of Thanksgiving week, some would say.

Now that we’re just four days away, Koepka and DeChambeau are working to change that, each dialing up the hate machine to 11 ahead of their 12-hole tilt like a couple of prized fighters. Sometimes that can come off as fake or forced ahead of a heavyweight bout, but they both insisted that the only thing that was forced was the hug seen ’round the world in Wisconsin.

“I wouldn’t put much on a forced hug,” Koepka said on a conference call Monday night.

In a rare turn of events, DeChambeau agreed.

“It was definitely a little forced,” he said. “The team wanted us to do it, and to be honest I was surprised he did it. But I’m a guy that can put things behind me pretty quickly when you apologize and then we can move along. But it definitely felt forced, there wasn’t an apology or anything like that. Until I get an apology for what he’s said and what not, nothing will change.”

“This is all real on my end,” DeChambeau added. “It’s disgusting the way the guy has tried to knock me down. There’s no need for it in the game of golf, he’s just tried to knock me down at every angle, every avenue. For what reason, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s jealous and wants to get a part of that PIP [Player Impact Program] money from the tour. That’s probably a part of it, because it was squashed until that was announced.”

A Koepka apology does not appear to be imminent, likely because Koepka wouldn’t even know what he’s apologizing for. He continues to insist that DeChambeau started it, twice breaking his trust by talking to his caddie Ricky Elliott on the range at the 2019 Northern Trust and by smack-talking him during a video game stream after the two had agreed to keep each other’s names out of each other’s mouths.

“I’ve said it like 10 different times,” Koepka said. “I’ve never really liked him. I think we played together maybe when he was an amateur at Augusta, that was the only time that I can think of that we ever played [together]. We didn’t get along there, didn’t get along since he got out [on tour], and then he said that stuff to Rick and I just thought it was crap. You don’t go ask my caddie to say something to me. Just come to me. Don’t be a little baby about it. I think he’s learned his lesson.”

DeChambeau claims he’ll have plenty to say to Koepka’s face on the course this Friday, which will be like dousing gasoline on Koepka’s hatred fire. Considering the fact he’s not going to change Koepka’s opinion on him, why not get your shots in?

“My first impression of [Brooks] was always like, he was a little cocky,” DeChambeau said. “A little like, ‘I’m too cool for this game.’ He’s kind of held up to those standards so far.

“For some reason he doesn’t like me. Whatever, it is what it is,” DeChambeau said. “I’m here to showcase and inspire kids to play a game in a unique way, and apparently he doesn’t like that.”

Shockingly, the two did find nice things to say about each other. Koepka says he admires how hard DeChambeau works, and the fact he revamped his body over the last few years and it translated to the course. DeChambeau praised Koepka for his ability to perform in nerve-wracking situations, specifically the majors.

The lovefest didn’t last too much longer.

“He’s been lacking a bit recently,” DeChambeau said, referring to Koepka’s two recent missed cuts. “I’m happy for him that he signed with Srixon, wink wink.”

“With all that’s gone on the last two years, eventually it was going to come to this,” Koepka said. “That way, somebody will have the bragging rights at the end of this and somebody won’t. I’ve already won the trash-talking point, I think that’s a given. So now it just comes down to playing golf, because obviously no one will [pair] us together. So we’ve got to do it on our own.”

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