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Events and Attractions

Clash Of The Titans? Tiger-Phil Work On $10M Prime-time Match

Woods and Mickelson would both agree to wear microphones throughout the matchgetty images

A $10M, winner-take-all match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson "almost took place" on Tuesday in Las Vegas before negotiations reportedly fell through, but both golfers "remain committed to making it happen as soon as it's feasible," according to Alan Shipnuck of GOLF.com. Mickelson said of the planned prime-time TV special, "We're working on a different date. I thought it was done for the 3rd but obviously it wasn't." Shipnuck notes the seeds were "planted back in April" at The Masters, when Woods and Mickelson "played a much-ballyhooed practice round together." Later at The Players, negotiations were "well under way." One of the "selling points to their made-for-TV match" is that both players are "on board with wearing microphones." Mickelson: "You will hear a lot of the comments that you don't hear on regular TV. 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." Woods and Mickelson are both "showmen and salesmen, so it was only natural that they would look for an opportunity to leverage their starpower together." An "initial match in Las Vegas -- Shadow Creek is the likely venue -- is just the beginning of their shared vision." Mickelson said that he and Woods "hope to play a couple exhibitions a year, around the world" (GOLF.com, 7/6).

SIGN ME UP: ESPN’s Mike Golic said of a Woods-Mickelson match, “I would watch it and the ratings would be ridiculous." While it has "been a while since the two of them have been really, really relevant and near the top ... they are two monster names and the ratings would be monstrous in this." Golic: "The $10 million on the line means nothing to me because honestly, they are both worth hundreds of millions of dollars.” ESPN’s Trey Wingo: “It's one thing to line up a putt and another thing to look over and say, ‘Wow, if this goes in the hole, I make $600,000.’ It's not the same thing as losing your own money, but there is something to, ‘If this goes in, I walk out of here with 600K’” (“Golic & Wingo,” ESPN Radio, 7/6). ESPN’s Jalen Rose said of the match, “Tiger is there and I will watch." He added, "This is a classic case of, ‘I’ll take my ball and go home.’ We can't beat the people on Tour, but we’ve got enough celebrity and we have enough interest where people will pay to watch us play against one another.” ESPN’s Michelle Beadle: “$10 million on the line? That’s drama. … They have a ton of money but for me, $10 million, the idea that you win that in a day is drama” (“Get Up!,” ESPN2, 7/6).

TWITTER REAX: CBS Sports' Will Brinson wrote a network could "charge $49.99 for pay per view and I wouldn’t bat an eye." The Caddie Network's T.J. Auclair: "I wouldn't mind a Steve Williams/Bones match as the undercard to tee off a few minutes before Tiger and Phil either!" But Golfweek's Eamon Lynch wrote, "The greatest stage for a Tiger / Phil showdown would be Sunday afternoon in a major. A manufactured TV tease is just an admission that we're unlikely to ever see it in a tournament that actually matters." Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner: "Easy to see the $10 million Tiger vs. Phil steel cage match drawing bigger ratings than every golf telecast this year -- even the Masters" (TWITTER.com, 7/6).

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