It’s all about the money as old rivals square up
RORY McIlroy was surely right when he argued it would have been better if it had taken place 15 years ago. Eddie Pepperell, too, when he registered his disgust at photographs of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson surrounded by wads of $100 bills.
But, for all the arguments as to the questionable point of Tiger and Phil playing off in Las Vegas this evening in ‘The Match’ for a winner-takes-all prize of $9million (€7.8m), there is the possibility that it might prove an entertaining four-hour diversion from the even more lurid exploits of Black Friday.
The two legends will be miked up and, given the eye-opening side-bet taking place on the first hole, you can be sure there will be plenty of harmless trash-talking from the start.
‘I think the first hole sets up so perfectly for me I’m prepared to bet you $100,000 that I will birdie it,’ said Mickelson, making it clear he was talking about his own money.
‘Double it,’ said Tiger, smirking. Just to be clear, the $200,000 at stake will be donated to charity — and there will be plenty more where that came from.
Now that the pair are far more friendly than in their heyday, they have gone further than would have been the case with the banter.
‘How do you plan to get inside Phil’s head?’ Tiger was asked. ‘Have you seen our majors record — I’ve won 14 and he’s won five,’ he said. ‘I’d say I’ve got into his head pretty good over the past 20 years.’
Mickelson agreed it’s hardly a match-up of equals. ‘Every record I broke in college, he came along and lowered it,’ he said. ‘There’s no question in my mind that he’s the greatest golfer we’ve ever seen.
‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t beat him over 18 holes here and finally have something on him.’
Meanwhile, Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton fired a 10-under-par 62 to give England a share of the lead after the opening round of the World Cup of Golf at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne are two shots off the pace after a 64.