"Tonight’s event, for Woods, really is about GOLFTV. "

While it’s hard to take The Challenge too seriously given that the purse is lower than the original Skins Game (1983) and a third of what Mickelson, Mediate, Choi and Ames played for in 2008 before sending Skins six-feet under.

Still, there should be plenty of things to watch for in the midnight ET event on Golf Channel, which is carrying the event in America while GOLFTV Powered by the PGA Tour beams the Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day exhibition to the rest of the world.

Michael Bamberger at Golf.com thanks Tiger for spicing up what would have been just a nice, average fall night for late night golf viewers. But he also makes clear in this Golf.com column this is about Tiger clocking in and earning some credits on his GOLFTV Powered By The PGA Tour deal.

Tonight’s event, for Woods, really is about GOLFTV. His contract with GOLFTV looms large in his life. Woods has done only one interview about winning his fifth green coat win since leaving Augusta National on Masters Sunday, and that interview was a GOLFTV production. The interview was conducted by Henni Zuel and it lasted 28 minutes, but Woods likely got credit for an even half-hour. It’s an excellent interview, by the way, but too short.

Woods will surely have more to say about that Masters win in his memoir, Back. No publication date has been announced. In the interest of synergy, GOLFTV could film Woods while he is writing his book. That could be interesting.

No one should have to see that, or whoever it is doing the transcribing.

Anyway, as Bamberger correctly notes, the game face will come on later in the week in the inaugural Zozo Championship where we’ll find out the state of Woods’ game.