Who could have ever foreseen that The Showdown would prove to be so underwhelming?
The matchup between Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka threatened to be an outstanding event, and perhaps could have been the catalyst for the game’s decision-makers to agree the deal which brings the sport back together.
However, The Showdown proved to be disappointing when you consider the star power involved. Team PGA Tour ran out comfortable winners, with neither LIV Golf player bringing their best stuff at Shadow Creek.
The Showdown did poor ratings – surely leaving a question mark over the future of these exhibition style events. But it is far from the first time these matches have fallen fairly flat.
How Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in the first edition of The Match to win $9 million
Of course, the first edition of The Match pitted Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson against each other at the same Las Vegas course. It appeared to be a mouthwatering prospect, with Woods and Mickelson having such a long rivalry. At times, there appeared to be a real animosity between the two.
Neither player was at their best by 2018. However, they have both won a major title since, and Woods had clinched the Tour Championship that same year, so there was still enough quality for a match to capture the imagination. There was also the news that they would both be mic’d up and could make side bets during the contest.
There was also the small matter of a $9 million prize for the winner.
Unfortunately, those hoping for some trash talk were left disappointed, while the side bets seemed to be a complete afterthought for both players. And despite neither player leading by more than one hole at any stage, the contest appeared to lack any real drama.
How Tiger Woods felt about The Match against Phil Mickelson
Mickelson would eventually win on the fourth play-off hole – by which time, the pair were playing in the darkness. There was also a realisation for many when the pair were stood next to the cases of cash just how grotesque the concept of playing one match for $9 million was.
Woods would actually suggest that he could not be happier with how the event turned out – barring the result itself.
“I think that everyone certainly had their way of looking at the match, and I just think that everyone was entitled to it,” he said.
“We were there to play head-to-head and do something that’s never been done before; lo and behold, here we are going to extra holes and we’re under the lights. You couldn’t have made this event any better than it was.
“We were going back and forth. Phil had the lead, I had the lead. It flipped, and next thing you know we go to the last hole. It was back and forth, very competitive, on a golf course that was playing a little bit on the tricky side. They had some dicey little pins in there. We had to be little on the careful side.”
But it is arguably telling that very few additions of The Match since have simply pitted two PGA Tour players against each other.
It is a format which seems to have such huge potential. The idea of two of the PGA Tour’s best against two of the biggest stars on LIV Golf should have been easy to pull off.
However, it seems, more than six years after Woods and Mickelson faced off, that the winning formula is still being worked on.
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