News
The Match Pt. 2 is ‘on’: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning to tee it up for charity
“It’s on now,” Phil Mickelson tweeted at Tiger Woods and Tom Brady.
“It” refers to the long-rumored sequel to “The Match,” the 2018 Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson made-for-television showdown.
In this installment, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be joined by Peyton Manning and Tom Brady for “The Match: Champions for Charity,” according to a Turner Sports release.
Fundraising efforts and donations around the event will benefit COVID-19 relief, with the specific charities to be announced later.
The venue and specific date are also TBD, as is the format, however, we do know the event will air on TNT.
The rumored pairings are Mickelson and Manning taking on Woods and Brady. At least one sportsbook is already offering odds on those pairings (SuperBook USA; Woods/Brady +130, Mickelson/Manning -150). However, a Mickelson tweet suggests he’ll be joining forces with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback.
According to Turner, “Tournament organizers are currently working with state and local government and public health officials on competition and production logistics to ensure the event follows safety and health protocols.”
The PGA Tour is yet to approve members Woods and Mickelson participating in the event.
“We are still in discussions on a number of items, including ensuring the health and safety for all involved with the event,” A Tour official told the Action Network’s Jason Sobel.
In November, 2018, Mickelson defeated Woods at the first “Match,” claiming the $9 million first prize with a birdie on the fourth playoff hole.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Michaele
Apr 23, 2020 at 3:46 pm
Made for TV garbage.
Brady and Manning? Pathetic joke.
DJ
Apr 23, 2020 at 1:24 pm
By using football players, you’re bringing in a bigger audience. And the commentary from all of them will be hilarious.
CarolC
Apr 23, 2020 at 11:01 am
What a great idea. I love golf and I love football. Tom Brady and Phil would be an awesome team. Can’t wait! (I hope they play in Pinehurst.)
Barry
Apr 23, 2020 at 10:01 am
Woods and Stricker vs Mickelson and Furyk would be the ultimate match IMO
Michaele
Apr 23, 2020 at 3:57 pm
That would be real golf, not the fake garbage they are proposing with this fiasco. TV wouldn’t be interested in real golf.
HoustonSig
Apr 24, 2020 at 9:57 am
Golf is dead. Maybe not to us but it’s only going one direction. It ain’t up.
jim nantz
Apr 23, 2020 at 6:03 am
the health and safety?? Let’s be real here … less than .002 percent of Americans are currently sick . They have a better chance of getting hit by lightening on the course, the lifetime risk of being struck by lightning in the United States is roughly one in 3,000. Play the damn game!
Truth Teller
Apr 23, 2020 at 1:54 pm
Sorry Jim, your math doesn’t quite add up….too much FN I suspect. 850K/330M is not .002 percent. Facts.
David Lehmann
Apr 23, 2020 at 4:00 pm
your right but ii is .2%
Michaele
Apr 23, 2020 at 4:01 pm
I suggest you shove your tongue down the throat of someone who has full blown Covid-19 and invite four or five of them to have dinner in your home. Make sure they sit right next to you, maybe six inches (not feet) away from you.
The ignorance present in your comment is astounding, but not at all surprising.
Michaele
Apr 23, 2020 at 4:07 pm
No, it wouldn’t be “epic” and most of them would not put their own money up. They don’t know what it is to risk their own money and those that do aren’t putting up a million. These events are always bankrolled by the third part sponsors and not by the particpants.
JK
Apr 24, 2020 at 10:04 am
So what. At least it’s new entertainment you don’t have to watch it your comments are not productive or enlightening except the covid one to the ignorant moron
jim nantz
Apr 23, 2020 at 5:57 am
have no desire to watch football players play golf..just a stupid idea. we want a real competition .. maybe two against two where both teams hate each other.
Daryl
Apr 23, 2020 at 3:20 am
4-10 pros, each putting up a million. Head to Head match play. Winner takes all. Steep buy-in will attract the best. Would be epic!
Robert
Apr 22, 2020 at 8:02 pm
I would rather see Woods and Mickelson against McIlroy and Rose or Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
Squints
Apr 22, 2020 at 9:31 pm
I agree though i can also see how they would want football fans interested too for viewership numbers. Ill put my money on this being another dud just for the reason they are trying to please multiple styles of people. UNLESS it airs before all the lock downs are lifted. Where im at that means they would need to hurry up and make this happen yesterday.