Opinion: Why I Won't Be Buying The Woods Vs Mickelson Match

Even as a huge golf (and Tiger) fan, the Woods vs Mickelson match in Las Vegas next month simply doesn't inspire me...

Opinion: Why I Won't Be Buying The Woods Vs Mickelson Match

Tiger Woods takes on Phil Mickelson in their winner-takes-all $9m match next month and I, like most people reading this I'd imagine, will not be purchasing the pay-per-view on TV.

We don't know how much it is going to cost but, quite frankly, any fee is too much.

The fact that the two richest active golfers, and two of the wealthiest players of all time, are lining their pockets even more at the expense of golf fans is wrong.

(Woods' 2016 net worth: $740m, Mickelson's 2016 net worth $375m - Forbes)

To be fair, the match initially sounded fairly interesting.

Two of golf's all-time greats battling it out in a one-on-one game for $9m, and the idea of them staking up their own money added needle and would have given the match some edge.

However, after it was announced that Warner Media had acquired the broadcast rights and it would be pay-per-view, it became fairly clear that this wasn't a grudge match, rather a mere money-making exercise.

The $9m they are playing for, plus extra 'bits' for longest drive and nearest the pins, will be raised from sponsorship and the paying public, and it won't be going to their charities but will instead be going towards their yacht and private jet costs.

Initially I liked the idea because it was sort of bringing back Shell's Wonderful World of Golf, you know, that programme we enjoy occasionally at 11pm on a Tuesday night when nothing else is on?

I'm sure I'd get into the match if I stumbled across it on said Tuesday night whilst looking for something to keep the night alive.

But to watch it live and pay money for it like it matters just won't be happening I'm afraid.

Mickelson and Woods both had horrendous Ryder Cups, winning 0 points from their collective six matches, so the match has lost some of its initial anticipation.

The World Cup of Golf is on that weekend for anybody wanting to watch any proper golf that weekend.

Last time out at Royal Melbourne, Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen won the trophy for Denmark in what was a brilliant spectacle.

Some may say that the event doesn't matter but I'd tend to disagree with that.

Soren Kjeldsen, a four-time European Tour winner, told us earlier this year that winning the historic Canada Cup with Olesen was the proudest moment of his career.

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Anyway, back to Mickelson vs Woods - PS. Check the Golf Monthly website during that week for a full preview and reaction of the World Cup of Golf.

Reports came out this week that the match wouldn't be open to fans but would instead see VIPs and sponsors walk the fairways with Mickelson and Woods.

Surely if you're paying for something you'd like to see an atmosphere?

10,000 fans following the match live would have at least added that.

Instead, it will be a quiet affair with little-to-no atmosphere. They've missed a trick there.

As a boxing fan, much of the best action is now on pay-per-view, and that is the nature of the game.

However, these pay-per-view events and the big non PPV ones too, have that extra edge due to the atmosphere created in the arena.

The thousands of fans create noise and fantastic images that make viewers at home feel like they are in the arena.

And likewise with golf, fans at the event enhance the viewer's experience.

Think Ryder Cup and Augusta roars, they send shivers down the spine.

Seeing fairways lined with thousands of people make people watching on TV feel like the event matters, which it always does in that case.

Seeing a handful of VIPs watching the Mickelson vs Woods match will make people watching on TV feel like the event doesn't matter, which is probably accurate.

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