I’ll admit it, the first “The Match” STUNK. We expected a lot more shooting the shit and Tiger and Phil letting loose a little, but what we got was a bunch of PC boring regular old golf.
Still, I’m not sure how, but this seems to have flown WAY under the radar considering the situation we are all in sports-wise. For the uninitiated, as of now (May 20th) there is a televised golf match between two sets of all time greats, as shown in the picture above, and I for one, could not be more thrilled. To start off, it’s Memorial Day Weekend, so I’ll be boozing heavily starting about Friday at 3 pm and that will continue for the next couple days into Sunday morning when they tee off on the first hole. I expect by about hole 6 I should be good and blitzed on a lake somewhere and checking the scores every 30 seconds.
This match gives me an opportunity to do something I’ve missed so dearly- live bet. My book will be having odds on every shot by each player on every hole. Does their tee shot land in the fairway? How many shots to the green? How many putts? And of course the winner of each hole and the match overall.
My early thoughts were all over the place. Especially concerning the 2 old golf pros. You can skip to the end for a brief recap of my ramblings and my picks.
How old are Tiger and Phil?
44 and 49 respectively.
How well did they play the last time they each swung the sticks?
For Tiger, he placed 68th at the Genesis Invitational in February of this year and is “only” 7 months off his MASSIVE comeback win (him in general coming bach, not the match itself) at the ZoZo Championship bach in October of 2019 where he shot a ridiculous 19 under.
Phil, admittedly has played a lot more golf in this last calendar year, but his last 2 outings in 2020 left some to be desired. He was cut from both the Genesis Invitational, as well as the Arnie Palmer Invitational (shooting a +4 and +5). Although he did place 3rd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am in February where he shot a very good 14 under.
What is the venue? Have either of them played at this course before?
The venue- Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. As described by the Top 100 Golf Courses article, “broad fairways, turf kept firm and running, with greens open in the front and set at angles dictating the appropriate spot from which to play, and most importantly, fascinating recovery shots for those times you miss the green” What does all that mean? It means these two pros should absolutely DOMINATE this course. I would place a large sum of money on neither Tiger nor Phil missing a fairway all day.
As for their history, Phil has never played the course before. Yup. Not even once. And Tiger? Well, many people call Medalist “Tiger’s home course”, since he is an active member there and currently co-owns the course record when he shot a 62 in 2011.
What about the 2 amateurs?
Pat McAfee can put it into words a lot better than I can, but from the stories I’ve heard and things I’ve read, Peyton Manning is a dominate golfer. Sitting at a 3.5 handicap and he has had plenty of time to play more golf than Tom Brady who is a solid 8 handicap.
Other than that there’s not much more to say about the 2 all time great NFL quarterbacks who are playing.
Recap and Picks
If you read through all my ramblings I truly appreciate you. But to recap, Tiger has played this course about a zillion times whereas Phil has played it 0 times, so that’s 1 for team Tiger. This course should be easily dominated by both pros so it’s going to be the amateurs that win this thing for their team. Peyton is a much better golfer, so another for team Tiger. HOWEVER, Phil did bully Tiger in The Match I, and currently owns a few acres of real estate in Tiger’s head because of it. And not to mention, Tom Brady was consistently a Colt Killer during Manning’s tenure in Indy.
I expect (read: am hoping for) these 4 mic’d up legends to talk a bunch of shit, keep us entertained, and dominate this course. It’s gonna be awesome to watch Phil bomb some drives, but what is more awesome, we get to watch Tiger on Sunday again.
So, let’s put our balls (and Lombardi Trophies) on the table and take The Lefty and TB12 for +180 to win the event. As I also mentioned, I will be taking every bet that involves Tiger and Phil hitting the fairway off their tee shots.
Stay safe this weekend, have a couple hundred beers, and let’s bet on some golf in the name of charity!
-Cornboy
The Bookie's Basement 