With all the hype surrounding Tiger Woods’ comeback this past year, he and fellow legend Phil Mickelson dropped a bombshell on the golf world in August. They would play a $9 million dollar match in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend. The current game of golf has turned into a dominant force of 20 somethings, highlighted by the rising Brooks Koepka, and studs including Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas. This revival of competition between the 42 year old Woods and 48 year old Mickelson will showcase the talent these legends still maintain.

Specifics:

It will start at 2 pm CT on Friday of Thanksgiving weekend. One caveat that many aren’t too pleased about would be that there is no general admission for spectators allowed on the property. Only select sponsors and VIPs will have access. Also, the price to see this match is $19.99 on PPV (Bleacher Report Live). Many aren’t fond of this price, thinking it is too expensive.Yet, I think more than enough people will tune it to see the greatest in their respective sport. Sponsored by Capital One making it “Capital One’s The Match: Tiger vs. Phil.” The Westgate has Woods as a -220 betting favorite to beat Phil.

The Venue:

Shadow Creek is currently ranked No. 26  on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses.

The course features meandering streams and a three hole finish that will rival any course around the world. Renowned course designer Tom Fazio used all of the $47 million he was given to sculpt this masterpiece, and he sure put it to good use. Throughout the course of the match, Tiger and Phil can call challenges with additional side bets, including a closest to the pin and possibly a long drive hole. This money will go to the charity of the winner’s choice.

Prediction:  

With all the hype surrounding the comeback of Tiger, I can’t see a scenario where he loses. While Phil isn’t a slouch (winning a World Golf Championship last year in Mexico), he lacks the intimidation and power Tiger possesses. Phil does have a few tricks up his sleeve though, with arguably the best short game of his generation and a trash talking game that is second to none. With the $20 PPV fee, the one extraordinary thing will be that both Tiger and Phil, along with their caddies, will be mic’d up for the whole golf world to hear.  It should definitely be an interesting display of golf, but Tiger Woods, in the end, will come out on top.