Phil Mickelson Open To Another Round Of 'The Match' -- With Some New Sidekicks
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Last weekend's 'The Match: Champions For Charity" was a rousing success for just about everyone involved. A quartet of sports superstars -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning -- all got to play a round of golf to raise money for those in need, and sports fans everywhere got to watch some real live sports for the first time in months.
Television ratings were through the roof and the event raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief. Even though there was a pair of winners and losers at the end, it was a win-win for all parties, minus Tom Brady's pants.
A sequel of sorts to Woods and Mickelson's 2018 head-to-head matchup, the 2020 version of The Match was a much better version of last year's event, and a much-needed escape for sports fans. And judging by Mickelson's recent comments to the LA Times, the two golfing titans are eager to hit the links again for another round in 2021.
However, the next time the duo squares off, they'll likely have some different partners.
"What if Tiger and I were to team up and take on two younger players, or what if we were to team up with younger players and have it be a real high-level golf competition?" Mickelson told The LA Times. "I think there's a market for that. But you have to have some personality in there, too, so a guy like Justin Thomas showed how funny he is and he would add a lot to an event like that.
"I think you could showcase guys like Steph Curry and Michael Jordan or Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes, who are all good golfers, elite talents and have great personalities," Mickelson continued. "Those personalities are going to come out with this event. Or you could have someone who loves the game and is competitive but is really entertaining like Larry David and Bill Murray. I think that could shine."
Sign us up. For all of that. Watching Jordan make side bets or Larry David complain endlessly for 18 holes would be some pretty, pretty, pretty good television -- even if the actual sports world returns to some normalcy by the time the third entry of The Match rolls around. The personality and side chatter between the four golfers is what made the event so much fun to watch on Sunday, even if the golf wasn't up to par in the first few holes. Now imagine Murray talking about a potential rain delay, urging everyone to keep playing, since the heavy stuff won't come down for quite a while.
Television gold, and all of it benefits a great cause.