Winners And Losers From The Match 2: Champions For Charity
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Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods returned for a second edition of The Match. The weather was awful, the course a tricky one to maneuver for crews and two legendary quarterbacks were thrown onto national TV with golf clubs. What could go right?
Yet…
Winners
Phil Mickelson – When he’s on and invested, he’s a master entertainer. He dropped only one early groaner followed by high energy and fun. The 11th hole drive and commentary falls into the first team all-legendary TV category. It should be a Callaway commercial. Now interrupting this post for an embed:
Tiger – There will be plenty of wondering what might have been at the Masters, PGA and U.S. Open given his ballstriking performance. Then again, the break may have been Either way, good to see him looking and playing well. He wasn’t excessively chatty but did deliver one especially fun zinger.
The legendary quarterbacks – They played incredibly well given the circumstances and in particular, Tom Brady’s painful struggle to find his swing. Peyton Manning delivered strong energy, one extra-special zinger and charmingly dated Top Gun references, while Brady delivered the shot that’ll be seen on every national highlight show. The Brady hole-out, also worthy of interrupting this blog post:
Justin Thomas, Charles Barkley, Brian Anderson—Three guys who either never or rarely do golf were the stars mostly because they knew when to chime in and when to let the players shine. Thomas’s knowledge of the course and quick adoption of the medium was impressive, particularly confidently and succinctly he delivered his points.
Turner – They clearly learned from The Match 1 and improved under brutal working conditions. Pile on awful weather, physical distancing requirements, an untested format and losing the Goodyear blimp to rain, and Champions for Charity should have been an unmitigated television disaster. Early on, things appeared headed that way but the energy and pace issues were a result of a 45-minute rain delay and the dreaded energy sapping format known as best ball golf. Strong graphics and tracer work was also turned in by producer Jeff Neubarth and director Steve Beim’s crew.
Sound – Of course there were a ton of issues, but even those turned slightly comical when players were zooming off the tee and unable to hear questions posed to them. The unintentional icing-out effect was cute. But given the crappy conditions and difficulties posed by trying to have players wear both a microphone and IFB for sound, the overall performance was beyond admirable. A nod to the announcers for laying out well for player dialogue after maybe overdoing the silence early on.
Modified Alternate Shot – Once this format took over on the back nine, the pace completely changed. I fear a lot of viewers were lost due to the front nine’s sluggish best-ball format. Their loss, but no one could blame them. Instead, point the finger at best ball.
Cart cams – what seemed like a huge optics nightmare—grown men and rich athletes whizzing around in their personalized decked-out carts—turned into a positive with cameras situated on the inside and the ability (sometimes) to converse with them. And was it me or where those carts moving a bit more rapidly than your normal buggy?
Charity – A whopping $20 million was raised by the assorted sponsors, pledges and viewers.
Medalist’s drainage – Given the rain and being situated on a swamp, to see the ball rolling and the greens retain speed after being under water when TNT came on the air, a miracle really.
Ernie Johnson - He’s a national treasure and great Barkley foil, but wasn’t able to make it for reasons he explained in this emotional piece that ran early in the show:
Losers
Tom Brady’s Under Armour pants – They split in the fabric—not the seam— and the big reveal came as he went to pick up his hole-out. They’ll be shipping those to UA headquarters for forensic analysis. **Brady later Tweets a suggestion they were NOT UA pants.
Even Brady had fun with it after the match:
Tiger’s “shorts” - No, they were not cut off rain pants. And they were predictably mocked on Twitter.
Most golf television golf commentators — The freedom of the Turner crew demonstrated how locked up and stale most golf broadcasters have become trying to cheer-lead in a losing battle to fend off PGA Tour censors, agents and other assorted overmeddling point-missers.
Best-ball – It just takes forever. And rarely is the format that good. Granted, the front nine best-ball format of Champions For Charity was better than two-man Skins (!?), but that’s not a high bar. Remember, the Scots have it right even if they may grovel at the “modified” notion. More alternate shot please.
Caddies – it was a rough two weeks for the bagmen of the world. First the lads carried their clubs around Seminole and it was the highlight. Then, even in awful conditions, the loopers left at home were not really missed. Sorry!
That Weird Mid-round Intermission – I’m sure there were logistical and bill-paying reasons but the mid-round intermission was a huge buzzkill.
Florida – In a statement to GeoffShackelford.com, the local Chamber of Commerce: “We are still investigating whether that was the Bahamas or somewhere in South Carolina, not our state for sure.”
Taylor Made Driving Relief – The PGA Tour Entertainment/NBC/Golf Channel precursor was well-intentioned and fine in the grand scheme. But with a pair of buzzkill guest appearances, and despite a better venue and weather, ended up feeling a bit too much like an empty make-good vessel than a chance to lose ourselves in a few hours of fun.
While both of these fundraising events faced hurdles created by the COVID-19 and The Match 2 obviously featured more dynamic participants, the latter provided escapist entertainment and generated four times the funds. So while there should be no winners, Champions For Charity takes this one 6&5 despite having a similar number of pre-planned obligations, promos and an A-Rod appearance. The Match 3? Why not!
