The Match III: Short on skilled golf, full of trash talk

While the third installment of The Match wasn’t as competitive as the first or second version, both of which featured Tiger Woods, this holiday-weekend edition brought a few laughs.

The trash talk started early and lasted throughout the match as Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley defeated Peyton Manning and Steph Curry 4 & 3 Friday at Stone Canyon in Oro Valley, Arizona.

The sports stars spent the afternoon raising money for HBCUs and meals for families in need. In the 15 holes it took Mickelson and Barkley to win The Match III, $4.4 million was raised for HBCUs. With the additional challenge holes, the total grew to $5.4 million.

Here are a few of the best moments from The Match: Champions for Change.

Barkley has a new, effective swing

Charles Barkley’s golf swing is infamous and hilarious. But leave it to Mickelson to help correct it ahead of The Match III.

The extent to which Mickelson was involved in training his partner to swing like a normal human is unclear, but when Barkley debuted his new swing Friday, it impressed analysts and fans alike. Deion Sanders, who joined TNT’s broadcast, even said Mickelson “turned water into wine” when discussing Barkley’s transformation.

‘Inside the NBA’ team roasts Chuck

This was the best part of the broadcast. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal joined TNT’s broadcast to tease Barkley.

Jokes ranged from Barkley’s weight – a frequent topic of discussion on TNT’s award-winning NBA program – to Barkley’s poor putting. Mickelson told Barkley, “Your colleagues are disrespecting you,” before handing the NBA Hall of Famer a golf ball with Shaq’s face printed on it.

Tom Brady enters the chat

Tom Brady didn’t return to the charity competition after his appearance in The Match II in May, but that didn’t stop him from trash talking. The six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback teased Barkley for a less than ideal tee shot.

His tweet, mocking Barkley’s signature pronunciation of “terrible,” was featured on the broadcast.

Steph grilled by Iggy

Chuck wasn’t the only one grilled by his teammates. Curry’s former teammate and current Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala was featured on TNT’s broadcast.

Iguodala roasted Curry’s outfit asking the three-time MVP, “I want to know how many zebras had to die for you to look fly?”

Related

The Match III: Mickelson, Barkley defeat Curry, Manning

Steph Curry trained with Michelle Wie West before The Match III

Where to watch The Match III: TV, streaming information

Peyton Manning heckles Phil Mickelson, calls out Tom Brady ahead of The Match: Champions for Change