The real measure of Tiger vs. Phil is how many watch

The winner between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson might be the least relevant aspect of their Friday night match in Las Vegas.

Far more compelling was the outcome of a 72hole exhibition played over two courses for an obscene amount of money — Harry Vardon received nearly seven times more than what he had won from his one-shot victory over Willie Park Jr. in the 1898 British Open.

That next summer, Vardon and Park played an exhibition billed by the British press as the greatest golf competition ever. Vardon won 100 British pounds with his 2-up advantage at North Berwick before 10,000 spectators, and another 100 pounds for completing the 11-and10 rout at his home course of Ganton.

So Woods vs. Mickelson is nothing new, except the public is not allowed at Shadow Creek.

What’s unique about this exhibition, with $9 million supposedly going to the winner, is the delivery. This is golf’s first venture into pay-per-view, and organizers were smart to keep the price at $19.99, which is about 25 percent of what a compelling heavyweight fight would command.

How many people care enough to sign up on Black Friday?

“Um, no,” Rory McIlroy said when he was asked last week in Dubai if he would pay to watch. “I contemplated it. I was having lunch with Phil at one of the FedEx Cup events and I said, ‘I might watch it.’ He took $25 out of his pocket and said, ‘No, here’s $25, I’ll pay for it for you.’ Thank you.”

McIlroy says it might have been worth it 15 years ago, but that now it has “missed the mark a little bit.”

Woods and Mickelson remain the two biggest names in golf even in this tidal wave of youth, but their one-sided rivalry — Woods was the only rival Mickelson had, not the other way around — has been dormant for five years. This feels old, and the relentless promotion at times has made it feel contrived.

Is it a bad idea? Not at all.

There is no downside to Woods and Mickelson squaring off in a pay-perview event on a beautiful golf course at Shadow Creek that everyone seems to know but hardly anyone has seen. But when the biggest upside is that there’s no downside, selling it becomes an uphill battle.

There will be plenty of talking, and Mickelson is rarely without words. There will be side action. That’s part of what makes this different from the “Showdown at Sherwood,” a Monday night exhibition between Woods and David Duval in 1999 when they were in their prime and battling for No. 1 in the world.