Will There Be A Sequel To The Woods Vs Mickelson Match?

Elliott Heath

Here's what we learnt from the Woods vs Mickelson match

Sequel To The Woods Vs Mickelson Match
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Will There Be A Sequel To The Woods Vs Mickelson Match?

Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods on the 22nd hole to win The Match and the $9m prize.

The 48-year-old birdied the 93 yard par-3 playoff hole to beat Woods in what was a unique experience for golf fans.

The Match was heavily criticised leading up to the first tee shot and it’s hard to say whether it delivered or not.

The standard of golf wasn’t great and it certainly petered out, with Woods missing from around 8ft on the 19th for victory before missing the green from 93 yards twice in a row.

He then left a birdie putt short from around 6ft on the 22nd hole, something fairly surprising when you consider the putt may have netted him $9m.

Commentator Charles Barkley said on the broadcast, “this is some crappy golf”:

Rickie Fowler hinted that he found the match boring:

The success of the PPV is also hard to clarify at the moment.

Clearly there wasn’t a market for it in the UK and that’s seen by the fact that Sky secured a last-minute deal to show if for free (to Sky Sports customers) with just a day to go.

There were also problems with the PPV stream in the US as some B/R Live customers received refunds due to the stream not working.

Many other platforms also offered refunds, like Charter Spectrum, Comcast, Cox Communications, Dish/Sling TV and AT&T.

At one point there were over 500 people on hold online waiting for assistance.

So will there be a sequel? Almost certainly not.

Might there be a sequel with other players? Perhaps, but again that is unlikely.

The supposed ‘banter’ we were promised wasn’t really there and at time came across as awkward before the serious moments where neither man really spoke to each other.

You just had the feeling that, at the end of the day, neither man really cared if they didn’t win the $9m because it certainly isn’t life changing for them. If the players aren’t all that bothered, fans won’t be either.

Could a one-off match work with some other players? Perhaps big names like Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Ian Poulter and younger players like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler might drive some interest and could have some decent ‘banter’ that viewers can be entertained by.

However, especially with the UK market, golf fans aren’t willing to put their hands in their pocket to watch one-offs that seemingly mean nothing when they already pay for Sky to watch the majors and big tournaments.

Woods and Mickelson are also the two most famous golfers of their generation and Woods is the only one with that real mass-market casual fan appeal. It is hard to see how a match with the current crop of players would be marketable for the masses.

Many said prior to The Match that it came 10 or 15 years too late, and with the fatigue that was shown towards the end, perhaps they were right.

Granted, it was fairly entertaining but ultimately didn’t match the excitement of a final round of a tournament. Do I want to see it again? No.

Would you like a to see another match between Woods and Mickelson? Or what about another match between different players?

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