Getty Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in negotiations for a one-on-one high stakes competition.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in negotiations for a high stakes, one-on-one competition. According to Golf.com, the golfers are expected to play for a purse of $10 million. Fellow golfer Patrick Reed suggested the golfers should bet their own money.
“I would pay a little bit more to watch it if it was for their own money, for sure,” Reed told Golf Channel. “It’s going to be entertaining. I think it would be more entertaining if it was for their own money because I think the guys would grind even harder. I’ll be curious to see it because I feel like one match, 18 holes, not your own money, it’s just kind of an exhibition.”
Despite Reed’s assertion that Woods and Mickelson use their own money, this seems unlikely. Golf.com reported the event was scheduled to be on July 3, but the negotiations fell through. After weeks of silence on the event, Woods confirmed that they are still working out the logistics for the competition.
“We are still working on it,” Woods explained to Golf.com. “It’s not there yet, but certainly we are working on it and trying to make it happen.”
Mickelson expects the competition to be more all-access than a typical event with both players wearing mics.
“You will hear a lot of the comments that you don’t hear on regular TV,” Mickelson told Golf.com. “We both like to talk smack, and we both have fun with what we’re doing. And the fact that this isn’t an official tournament, that it’s just a head-to-head match, you’ll hear some of the little nuances, some of the little things that you don’t normally pick up.”
Mickelson also believes a big purse, like the $10 million that has been reported, will help increase the competition and quality of golf.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of money,” Mickelson noted to Golf.com. “No matter how much money you have, this amount will take both of us out of our comfort zone.”
Golf.com reported Shadow Creek in Las Vegas is the likely venue for the competition, and the golfers are hoping this is more than a one-time event. There is a possibility that the first event kicks off a series of competitions. Golf.com detailed what was discussed in the original negotiations.
The greatest match that never was almost took place on July 3 in Las Vegas, a prime-time TV special that was to have pitted Tiger Woods against Phil Mickelson in a $10 million winner-take-all, 18-hole death match. The negotiations, involving a major television network and various corporate entities, couldn’t quite be consummated in time but Woods and Mickelson and their people remain committed to making it happen as soon as it’s feasible.
Vegas has already released odds for the event. After the opening odds started as a pick ’em, Woods is now the favorite at -125, while Mickelson is a +105 underdog. Mickelson and Woods were paired in a practice round the week of the Masters, which generated a lot of buzz. If their one-on-one duel comes to fruition, it is sure to be must-watch television for golf fans.