The Match: History, Records and Evolution of the Golf Exhibition
The Match is a golf exhibition series that features players from the golf world and other professional sports. It has featured iconic names such as Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Stephen Curry. The stakes are high and the charitable aspect has grown with each event. Here is a complete breakdown of the entire series of The Match along with winners, locations, payouts, and more.
How The Match Started
Turner Sports has broadcasted all six iterations of The Match since its inception in 2018. There is typically an event during Thanksgiving weekend and since 2020 there has been a second event in the spring. Hollywood agent Jack Whigham and TV producer Bryan Zuriff spawned the idea for The Match, a new take on the old Skins Game that was broadcast from 1983-2008, but with a modern and edgy flair. The two wanted to capture the way friends play and interact on the golf course.
History of The Match
With six versions of The Match in the books, let’s take a look at who’s played in them and how they’ve historically played out.
| Year | Players | Winner(s) | Format | Course |
| 2018 | Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson | Mickelson | Match Play | Shadow Creek Golf Course (Nevada) |
| 2020 | Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning vs. Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady | Woods/Manning | Four-Ball | Medalist Golf Club (Florida) |
| 2020 | Phil Mickelson/Charles Barkley vs.Stephen Curry/Peyton Manning | Mickelson/Barkley | Foursomes | Stone Canyon Golf Club (Arizona) |
| 2021 | Bryson DeChambeau/Aaron Rodgers vs. Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady | DeChambeau/Rodgers | Greensomes | The Reserve at Moonlight Basin (Montana) |
| 2021 | Bryson DeChambeau vs. Brooks Koepka | Koepka | Match Play | Wynn Golf Club (Nevada) |
| 2022 | Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes/Josh Allen | Brady/Rodgers | Shamble | Wynn Golf Club (Nevada) |
| 2022 | Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas | TBD | TBD | Pelican Golf Club (Florida) |
Tiger vs. Phil
The inaugural edition of The Match was played in 2018 and was one of the most hyped and anticipated events in golf. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had been pitted against one another for years, although many would argue that their “rivalry” was created by the media.
Tiger and Phil had been, without question, the two best players in professional golf over the last 25 years, but had never had a direct competition. The event was sold as a pay-per-view, but broadcasting failures forced Turner to stream it for free as the event teed off. It took all 18 holes, plus four playoff holes, for Mickelson to win the event and the $9 million prize at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
Champions for Charity
The second edition of The Match was titled “Champions for Charity,” and featured pro-am team of Woods and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning against Mickelson and quarterback Tom Brady. They played a four-ball format at Medalist Golf Club, which was exciting in itself because the public rarely gets an inside look at Medalist. Woods and Manning won the event by a single hole. The event raised over $20 million for COVID-19 related charities.
Champions for Change
Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2020, Peyton Manning returned to partner with NBA star Steph Curry and they took on the team of Phil Mickelson and retired NBA star Charles Barkley. They played an American Foursomes format at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Arizona.
The team of Mickelson and Barkley won the third installment of the series which raised money for historically black colleges and universities.
The Match IV
Mickelson and Brady teamed up again to take on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau. The Reserve at Moonlight Bay in Montana played host and they played a greensomes format, which is the same as foursomes except each player tees off on every hole.
While Rodgers and DeChambeau won the event on the course 4-and-3, the real winner was Feeding America, which received several million donated meals and several million dollars in additional donations to My Brother’s Keeper charity.
Bryson vs. Brooks
The talk of the 2021 PGA Tour season was the feud between DeChambeau and fellow U.S. powerhouse, Brooks Koepka. The two decided to settle their beef at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.
This 12-hole exhibition ended on the ninth green when DeChambeau conceded to Koepka, giving him the victory. The duo continued to play the final stretch of holes as a long drive competition and closest to the pin still had charitable implications.
The Match VI
The Match VI went off-script as it became the first iteration of the comptition not to actually feature golfers. Instead, four current NFL quarterbacks, perhaps the four most popular, teed it up at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas on June 1, 2022. Upstart QBs Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen took on the veteran duo of Brady and Rodgers in the 12-hole match. Brady and Rodgers eeked out a 1-up victory.
All-Time The Match Records
Aaron Rodgers is the most successful player in this history of The Match, with a 2-0 combined record. Here is how every player who has teed it up in The Match has fared.
| Player | Wins | Record |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2 | 2-0 |
| Phil Mickelson | 2 | 2-1 |
| Charles Barkley | 1 | 1-0 |
| Brooks Koepka | 1 | 1-0 |
| Tiger Woods | 1 | 1-1 |
| Peyton Manning | 1 | 1-1 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 1 | 1-1 |
| Tom Brady | 1 | 1-2 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 0 | 0-1 |
| Josh Allen | 0 | 0-1 |
Future Events
Notably no woman has ever been a participant of The Match, despite fans calling for a co-ed competition for years. That does not appear to be changing for the late 2022 edition of The Match, which features Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Rory McIlroy. The exhibition will take place December 10th at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.