Confirmed: Woods & McIlroy Take On Thomas & Spieth In The Match

Days after reports surfaced that Tiger Woods would appear in the seventh iteration of The Match it has been confirmed that the 15 time-Major winner will compete alongside Rory McIlroy as they take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the made-for-TV exhibition event on 10 December at Tampa’s Pelican Golf Club.

Thomas revealed the news via his Instagram account where he posted a video trailer of the upcoming event and wrote: “@jordanspieth looks like we got some competition! Looking forward to a fun match under the lights against @tigerwoods and @rorymcilroy while we raise money for Hurricane Ian relief. Mental prep for the FedEx Cup and major championship jokes starts now!”

It will not be the first time Woods has taken part in the event. He also played in the 2018 tournament where he lost in a head-to-head match play challenge against Phil Mickelson. Woods then returned in 2020 and this time had the upper hand against Mickelson and Tom Brady when he teamed up with Peyton Manning. However, for World No.1 McIlroy, three-time Major winner Spieth and PGA Champion Thomas, it marks their debuts in the event. In another first, the tournament will also be played under floodlights.

However, it is likely to be Woods' appearance that will spark the most interest given he has not played in a tournament since July’s 150th Open at St Andrews. That marked the American's third appearance of the year as he recovers from a horrific leg injury sustained in a car accident in February 2021

The 46-year-old has had mixed fortunes since his first appearance of the year in the Masters at Augusta National. While he completed that tournament and finished a creditable 47th, he had to withdraw from June’s PGA Championship after three rounds with his injury still bothering him. 

After opting not to play in the third Major of the year, the US Open, Woods was still far from his best in his most recent appearance and missed the cut. The week before next month’s event, Woods hosts the Hero World Challenge. However, he is currently not listed in the preliminary field for the tournament.

The previous edition of The Match was held in Nevada in June and featured an all-American football quarterback lineup of Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.