Report: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson likely to play 'The Match' in 2019, 2020
The megahyped, under-delivering yipped putt that was “The Match” is coming back, according to one report.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson dueling mano a mano seemed like the greatest idea of 2003, albeit executed on Black Friday 2018. The match, which Mickelson won in 22 largely uninspiring holes, suffered technical glitches that forced Turner Sports to refund pay-per-view fees as it streamed the showdown online for free. But even with those headwinds, according to a new Golf World report, The Match is likely to return for 2019 and 2020.
According to Golf World, more than one million customers ponied up for the $19.95 pay-per-view, which gives you an idea of the financial hit that Turner took when it had to relinquish PPV revenues. But the publicity from the event, as well as Capital One’s title sponsorship, apparently carried the day well enough to warrant a repeat.
A joint venture co-owned by Woods and Mickelson has signed a three-year deal with Turner, according to Golf World, meaning that sequels are on the way. But considering how The Match I turned out, it’s likely The Match II and The Match III will feature some additional elements to liven up the proceedings, like Woods and Mickelson playing with partners or playing against another team. (We’ve got a few suggestions for how to fix The Match.)
Sequels rarely live up to the original, but in this case, that’s a low bar to clear. Let’s hope The Match II is more “The Godfather II” than “Caddyshack II.”
____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• LeBron suffers injury as Lakers roll past Warriors
• Report: UFC fighter injured in grenade attack
• Twitter roasts unflattering Draymond sketch
• Bears’ Mack puts on Bulls uniform for Christmas
