Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty
It took 22 holes to do it, but after five long hours, Phil Mickelson was able to walk away with $9 million.
Mickelson beat outTiger Woodsin their highly anticipated duel, dubbed “The Match,” on Friday afternoon at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. The event was a first for the sport of golf, as it was planned to be exclusively shown onpay-per-viewfor $20. But because of streaming issues, the latter half of the event was shown for free online.
The event saw the two longtime rivals go toe-to-toe for a $9 million purse and the chance to earn lots more thanks to a unique format that allowed them to make side bets for additional money (which would all go to charity). And these were no small wagers, as Mickelson quickly lost $200,000 at the first hole when he failed to birdie while trying to make good on a bet from earlier this week.
“That hurts the pocket!” Woods, 42, said as 48-year-old Mickelson just missed the hole while putting from nine feet away.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.Harry How/Getty
Mickelson would go on to win a $300,000 challenge at hole No. 13 for landing closest to the pin.
Both players were squared heading into hole 18 (which was supposed to be the final hole) after Mickelson failed to birdie at No. 17. But that wasn’t enough to decide the match, and the two moved on to the 19th hole, where Woods had a chance to win with a putt that rotated away from the hole just a moment before it seemed to be going in. Mickelson, too, just missed a putt to seal a victory at the 20th hole, and the players moved on to hole No. 21.
At hole 21, Mickelson missed a putt once more, and Woods conceded the hole to move on to No. 22. Woods then missed a chance to birdie, and Mickelson capitalized on the error to win the match.
When told about Barkley’s comment, Woods shot back at Barkley, whosegolf swing is famous for all the wrong reasons.
“Well, I like our chances of making contact [with the ball] more than he does!” Woods said while laughing.
source: people.com
