The match was presented as a show, but in the end it was just two proud champions playing golf

Mickelson beat Woods on the 22nd hole, then accepted a silver prize and a gold belt buckle.

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I knew that The Match was going to be a different viewing experience when I could not really watch it. I had planned to be in Las Vegas, but I came across an ear, proving that the Golf Gods have a sense of humor. It was not until half an hour before the first tee shot that I bothered to try and order this special TV show, but my Roku's Bleacher Report continued to show messages. different error. In desperation, I called Brophy's, my favorite hometown pub, Carmel, California, where Graeme MacDowell partied on Sunday night after winning the US Open. The guy on the phone said his boss was trying to figure out how to order it and call him back in half an hour. I have sounded another popular watering point nearby for golfers, Mulligan's. "We just have the baseball game today," the girl said on the phone. "That's $ 5,000 for a company that orders the match, so we will not pay that."

I never managed to get the Match to work on my TV, but I forced him to watch it on my laptop. (This seems to be a bad business model, but what do I know?) It was an exercise in cognitive dissonance. The advertisers kept boasting about Shadow Creek's aesthetic, but my eyes kept going to the greens' vents. There was talk of using the world's largest drone for breathtaking shots, but it was so buzzing that it was distracting almost every shot in the opening holes. I was excited that players could play until Phil gasped and Tiger 's Sniffy Sniffles distracted the show.

The best woofing culminated early, at the very first hole, when Mickelson misread his birdie putt to lose a $ 200k parallel bet that he would make a hole in the hole.

"Good speed," said Tiger, with a dramatic understatement. But Phil never met his gaze and the moment came to an end.

The worst case scenario for all this shebang was that Woods struggles early, setting him in full play mode. So he threw a short putt on the second hole and started shooting goals. There had been a delightfully awkward little conversation along the first two holes, but Woods came back to himself, thinking of himself. Phil was allowed to speak with Mark Russell Rules Officer and all those who strayed within earshot. Mickelson hit him well, but he looked scared by the greens, and most of his debut debut were with his brother / younger Tim, discussing the state of his putting. The most exciting moment of the top nine finishes came in the seventh hole of the normal 3, with his $ 200,000 bet closest to the pin. Woods passed first and found himself away from a right back pin, his ball rolling at 40 feet. Mickelson was almost hit the same way, and as his ball went down gently, the suspense was delicious. His shot was a few feet closer to the hole than Tiger's, which earned him a despicable manna.

With a dull golf and minimal interaction between the protagonists, television broadcasting badly needed other elements to keep viewers engaged / awake. Upon our arrival, we had talked a lot about advanced technology in the show, but all we had was a gambling expert who infiltrated in almost every hole with updates on the action of Vegas sports books. Since I had not made any of these bets, it was difficult to deal with them. In desperation, studio hosts Charles Barkley and Samuel L. Jackson were invited, which caused a lot of painful yukking and a moment of clarity from Sir Charles, who described the golf caliber as "crappy". ".

This was the fundamental problem of The Match: it was sold as a show, but in the end it was only two golfers playing golf. The last nine places finally became interesting when all hokey side bets and pre-written tweets collapsed and two proud champions fought not to lose. Woods finally found momentum, winning the 11th and 12th holes to take a lead of one inch and then hitting a mighty tee on the tough 13th par-3. But Mickelson responded with a magnificent shot that never left the flag and he then nudged the 9-foot putt to tie the game.

Phil continued to shoot quality shots – he described his perfect training at the 16th of the normal 5 as a "tasty little piece" – and Tiger blinked at first, pushing an ugly boguey from the center of the fairway to then lose a 15-footer that could have won the 16th. But Woods produced a signature moment he badly needed as he dug behind the green to steal the 17th hole. After a punch, he told his younger brother Joe LaCava, "Like the good old days, buddy.

Then they went to 18 all-square, and the tension was exquisite. It was reminiscent of something Mickelson said earlier: "It's a little quieter on the last nine places, is not it?"

Woods made a powerful birdie with two strokes, then channeled his inner Nicklaus by giving Mickelson a three-foot ticket for a birdie, resulting in sudden death. He should have finished on the first extra hole with a vintage Tiger bird, but he missed an 8 foot footer on the down side. Suddenly, what had become a tense match is again a spectacle. The final par 5 was converted into a 93-meter par 3 played under the spotlight, which was just as disappointing as deciding the World Cup on penalties. On the third attempt, Mickelson finally ended the boredom by making a birdie. It's a shame that the finish is so disappointing, because for a moment, this production of cheese had become real. Even on a laptop.