Tiger, Phil brace for charity match with 2 others

MANILA, Philippines – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have shared the PGA Tour stage for nearly a quarter of a century, and to say they are the two biggest stars of their generation is an understatement.

The numbers are overwhelming — a combined 983 PGA Tour events played, producing 126 victories, 67 second-place finishes and countless thrills for golf fans. 

The memories will be added to Sunday’s epic clash at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida where Woods and Mickelson will be two of the stars in a Covid-19 fundraising tournament alongside a pair of other athletes who know something about sharing their sport’s spotlight — National Football League (NFL) icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. 

Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity features the two teams playing a four-ball (best-ball) format on the front nine and a modified alternate-shot format on the back. 

In all, the match will raise at least $10 million to support coronavirus relief efforts, but the players will have opportunities on the course to earn even more for the selected charities.

The charity match will be broadcast live on TV beginning at 3 p.m. (ET) on TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN. Viewers with cable subscriptions can stream the action live online on their device of choice through the TNT app.

Woods and Mickelson have an extensive history competing together, having played in the same grouping 37 times on Tour, with Woods shooting the better score 18 times to Mickelson’s 15. More importantly, Woods has won 10 times compared to Mickelson’s five when went head to head in the same group.

They have finished 1-2 in Tour events nine times over the course of their sterling careers, beginning at the 1998 Sentry Tournament of Champions, where Mickelson held off a furious Sunday rally from Woods to win. The pair finished 1-2 in an event in five consecutive years and last accomplished the feat at the 2009 Tour Championship. Mickelson got the better of Woods that time, too, as he shot a bogey-free 65 on the final day to win by three shots.

The best of those epic matchups? That honor likely falls to the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral in Miami, where Woods clipped Mickelson by one shot.