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The Match is a series of golf challenge matches that began in 2018. The event features major professional golfers or other notable athletes facing each other in a head-to-head competition. The format has varied throughout the run of the event, with sports entertainment elements included. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, alternating between contests involving professional golfers (usually in November or December, outside the PGA Tour season) and contests involving celebrity athletes from other sports, with or without golf professionals. The Showdown is a similar event, featuring a PGA Tour vs LIV Golf match, with the 2024 edition taking place on December 17.
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What You'll Learn
- The Match began in 2018, featuring professional golfers and other athletes
- The 2024 edition included eight celebrities from sports and entertainment
- The Showdown in 2024 featured Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka
- The Match: Tiger vs. Phil was the inaugural edition, won by Phil Mickelson
- The Match is televised by TNT Sports, with some editions simulcast on TBS, TruTV or HLN
The Match began in 2018, featuring professional golfers and other athletes
The Match is a series of exhibition match play golf challenge matches that began in 2018. The event features major professional golfers or other notable athletes facing each other in a head-to-head competition. The inaugural edition, titled The Match: Tiger vs. Phil, was played on November 23, 2018, between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The purse for the event was $9 million, with Phil Mickelson taking home the entire amount after winning the match after 22 holes, including four playoff holes.
The format has varied throughout the run of the event, with sports entertainment elements included, such as contestants wagering portions of their prize on side bets. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, alternating between contests involving professional golfers and celebrity athletes from other sports, with or without golf professionals. The event is televised via pay-per-view through traditional television providers and streaming platforms.
The first edition of The Match in 2018 was marketed as a pay-per-view event by Turner Sports, but technical issues forced the event to be streamed for free, with Turner and other providers offering refunds. Since then, The Match has been aired on cable television by TNT Sports and simulcast on other channels like TBS, TruTV, and HLN. The international distribution of the event has expanded since 2022, with Eurosport, GolfTV, and Discovery+ also broadcasting The Match.
The Match has featured notable athletes from other sports, such as National Football League quarterbacks and NBA players, partnering with professional golfers in a pro-am format. The event has also included celebrity athletes and entertainers, with the 2024 edition, The Match: Superstars, featuring eight celebrities in a two-day golf competition. The Match continues to evolve, with new formats and participants being introduced to create exciting competitions and attract a diverse audience.
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The 2024 edition included eight celebrities from sports and entertainment
The Match is a series of exhibition match play golf challenge matches that began in 2018. The event features major professional golfers or other notable athletes facing each other in head-to-head competition. The format has varied throughout the different editions of the event. However, sports entertainment elements are always included. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year. One typically involves professional golfers (usually in November or December, outside the PGA Tour season) and the other involves celebrity athletes from other sports, sometimes with golf professionals.
The 2024 edition of The Match: Superstars was held in February in West Palm Beach, Florida. This edition was unique in that it did not feature any professional golfers. Instead, eight celebrities from sports and entertainment competed in a two-day golf competition. The celebrities were divided into four teams of two for the first day of competition. The teams were as follows: Bill Murray and Wayne Gretzky; Charles Barkley and Ken Griffey Jr.; Mark Wahlberg and Michael Phelps; and Nate Bargatze and Blake Griffin.
The first day of competition consisted of two 2-vs.-2 rounds of scramble golf, where all players tee off but each team chooses the best lie to play from. The four members of the winning teams then played again on the second day in 1-on-1 semifinal and championship rounds. This edition of The Match was the first to be pre-recorded and was not announced until after the tournament had already been played.
In addition to The Match: Superstars, another golf event called The Showdown took place in 2024. This event featured professional golfers Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka competing in an exhibition match in Las Vegas. The Showdown featured three different playing formats across 18 holes of competition, including four-ball, foursomes, and singles formats.
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The Showdown in 2024 featured Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka
The Showdown in 2024 featured a highly anticipated golf match-up between Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka. This event, a part of 'The Match' series, took place on December 17 at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. It was a special one-off exhibition match, pitting golfers from rival circuits, PGA Tour, and LIV Golf, against each other. The format consisted of three different playing styles across 18 holes: four-ball, foursomes, and singles.
Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, and Rory McIlroy, World No. 3, formed one team, representing the PGA Tour. Scheffler entered the showdown after a stellar year, with victories at the Masters, Paris Olympics, and FedEx Cup, among others. McIlroy, his teammate, had also won four worldwide tournaments in 2024, including the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the DP World Tour Championship.
Their opponents, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, represented the LIV Golf team. DeChambeau, known for his powerful drives, had won his second major championship title at the U.S. Open earlier in the year, while Koepka had won LIV Golf events in Singapore and Greenbrier. Despite their impressive records, DeChambeau and Koepka had a history of animosity, with Koepka previously criticising DeChambeau's slow play.
The match-up lived up to its hype, with Scheffler and McIlroy dominating from the start. They won the initial four-ball session 3&2 after just four holes, taking an early 1-0 lead. The foursomes session was more competitive, but Scheffler and McIlroy clinched the win on the 12th hole. With the overall match score at 2-0, DeChambeau and Koepka needed to win both singles matchups to force a playoff. However, the PGA Tour duo maintained their momentum, securing a decisive 3-0 victory on the 16th hole.
The winners, Scheffler and McIlroy, took home a unique prize of $10 million in cryptocurrency. The event, which began in 2018 with a match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, has since evolved into a highly anticipated golf exhibition, attracting top golfers and offering substantial prizes.
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The Match: Tiger vs. Phil was the inaugural edition, won by Phil Mickelson
The Match is a series of exhibition match play golf challenge matches that began in 2018. The inaugural edition, titled 'The Match: Tiger vs. Phil', was played on November 23, 2018, between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The event, held at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, Nevada, featured a $9 million purse, with the winner taking the entire amount.
The competition was initially announced as a pay-per-view event, but technical issues with the payment system prevented some customers from accessing the purchased PPV. As a result, the organisers decided to stream it for free and offer refunds to those affected. The match was a highly anticipated contest between two of the biggest stars in golf.
Tiger and Phil played 18 holes of match play but were tied after regulation play, leading to extra holes being played. Phil Mickelson ultimately won the match on the 22nd hole, including four playoff holes. A prominently-promoted feature of the event were side-bets, which counted separately from the main purse. Both golfers made wagers on per-hole challenges, such as closest to the pin and longest drive, with the winnings going to charity.
The inaugural edition of The Match: Tiger vs. Phil set a precedent for future editions, with the inclusion of sports entertainment elements and celebrity competitors alongside professional golfers. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, with one typically taking place in November or December outside the PGA Tour season.
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The Match is televised by TNT Sports, with some editions simulcast on TBS, TruTV or HLN
The Match is a series of exhibition match play golf challenge matches that began in 2018. It features major professional golfers or other notable athletes facing each other in head-to-head competition. The format varies, but sports entertainment elements are always included. TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports) has televised all iterations of the event. TNT Sports' parent company owns Eurosport, GolfTV, and Discovery+, which have also distributed The Match internationally since 2022.
Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, alternating between contests involving professional golfers and contests involving celebrity athletes from other sports, with or without golf professionals. One of the two contests is usually held on the weekend before or after Thanksgiving.
The inaugural edition of The Match was televised via pay-per-view through traditional television providers and Bleacher Report's live streaming platform B/R Live. However, after facing technical difficulties with B/R Live's payment system, the event was streamed for free, and B/R Live and other cable providers issued refunds.
Since then, The Match has been aired on cable television by TNT Sports, with some editions simulcast on TBS, TruTV, or HLN. The Showdown, a PGA Tour vs LIV Golf match that took place on December 17, 2024, was exclusively broadcast in the United States on TNT, with streams available on TBS and TruTV.
The Match has featured notable athletes such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelce.
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Frequently asked questions
The Match is a series of golf challenges that began in 2018. Since 2020, two iterations of The Match have been held each year, usually in November or December.
The first edition of The Match took place on November 23, 2018, at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
The most recent edition of The Match took place on December 17, 2024.
There is currently no information on whether spectators will be allowed on-site for the event, or when tickets will go on sale.
