Woods, Mickelson, Manning and Brady filled the airwaves with banter and played some good golfgetty images
Sunday's golf match featuring Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady raised more than $20M for COVID-19 relief, and it was "basically the perfect quarantine sports event," according to Kevin Clark of THE RINGER. It was the five "best hours of sports we’ve seen in many months, and there’s a lot to learn." This was "not an easy event to pull off; it could have easily morphed into a hollow and unfun slog." Clark: "Whatever I just saw, I want more of it" (THERINGER.com, 5/24). ESPN.com's Bob Harig wrote the weather was "about the only thing" that did not cooperate. It was a "soaked, successful day." The foursome of Woods, Mickelson, Manning and Brady "filled the airwaves with banter and played some good golf, too." Manning "brought a lot to the second edition of The Match." He was "fun and engaging and self-deprecating" (ESPN.com, 5/24).
PHIL THE THRILL: CNN.com's Carolyn Manno wrote for golf enthusiasts "craving quality insights, Mickelson committed to narrating the day in detail." He used the cameras mounted to the players personalized golf carts "to his advantage -- providing constant feedback and urging much needed dialogue between the competitors." Later, Mickelson also "proved to be a valuable coach to his teammate," walking Brady through "each putt and trying to keep his confidence up while the NFL star struggled." As expected, Charles Barkley was an "asset to the broadcast, most notably in prompting trash talk between the foursome." Despite "less than ideal playing conditions, the broadcast found a way to showcase some great trash talk, highlight a strong competitive undertone, and raise a total of $20 million for charity." All things considered, the event was a "rain-soaked success" (CNN.com, 5/24).
SUNDAY FUNDAY: The AP's Doug Ferguson noted players "wore live mics and talked with one another as well as the Turner Sports crew, including Barkley, adding a fresh wrinkle to the sport." Fading light was just "one of the tricky conditions they dealt with; rain fell in buckets starting on the 12th hole." But in the end, the "name of the game, in one of the first live sports events since the onset of the pandemic, was entertainment and fundraising, and The Match II delivered" (AP, 5/24). In N.Y., Mark Cannizzaro wrote the event "treated the viewers with more entertainment with four players mic’d up and providing great color." Barkley "was the fifth star in this event with his tweaks and jabs." By day’s end, the four players and the entire production "left everyone who watched with a good Memorial Day weekend sports memory and 20 million more reasons to be happy" (N.Y. POST, 5/25).
