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Baseball icon Hank Aaron once said, “It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. It took an afternoon on the golf course.” Although not a baseball player Charles Barkley can probably relate. A Hall of Fame member in his respective sport, few have seen their golf swings analyzed, criticized and mocked more frequently in recent memory than Barkley, whose infamous hitch is emulated by weekend golfers everywhere.
Playing alongside Phil Mickelson in The Match III on Friday, Barkley relied on his new and improved swing and Mickelson training to head for an uneven victory over Steph Curry and Peyton Manning.
After Curry and Manning won the first hole with a par, Barkley and Mickelson took the next four holes and never looked back, taking the victory with a birdie at No.15.
Barkley set the tone early, hitting the fairway on each of his first two drives. In particular, the team that has drawn the ire of amateur golfers the world over was nowhere to be found.
Five-time major winner Barkley and Mickelson advanced four of seven holes, creating an insurmountable lead for Curry and Manning. With the outcome practically in hand, the duo entertained viewers with a healthy dose of trashy speech, with Mickelson conceding a long putt to Curry to keep things interesting.
Up to three holes on the turn, Barkley suggested alternative lineup for TNT instead of showing the rest of the game.
Play on both sides failed on the back nine as Curry and Manning failed to take advantage of Barkley and Mickelson’s mistakes. Barkley’s game has certainly been improved, but he’s not quite ready to make the senior tour just yet.
Ultimately, Barkley and Mickelson – who were +140 underdogs heading into the game – were deserving champions. While the drama isn’t quite there, the Match has managed to raise money for historically black colleges and universities, providing plenty of entertainment and, perhaps more importantly, giving Barkley a platform. to present all the advances of his game in recent years. Hoping he will make another appearance in Match IV.
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