Team Tiger-Peyton wins Capital One's The Match

Tom Brady delivered the shot of the match that made it easy to forget the rest of his swings. Tiger Woods didn't miss a fairway and earned a small measure of revenge against Phil Mickelson.

The PGA TOUR is set to return in just over two weeks, and what a preview this was.

In the second and final charity match that brought live golf to TV, this exhibition was as entertaining as the real thing.

Woods lagged a long birdie putt close enough that his partner, Peyton Manning, didn't have to putt. That secured a 1-up victory over Mickelson and Brady in Capital One's The Match: Champions for Charity.

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The goal was to raise $10 million or more for COVID-19 relief funds, and online donations sent money climbing. In the end, $20 million was raised.

This made-for-TV exhibition would have have worth pay-per-view, the model Woods and Mickelson used for a $9 million winner-take-all match in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend in 2018 that Mickelson won in a playoff under lights.

Throw in two NFL greats in Brady and Manning, and this allowed viewers to ride along for 18 holes at Medalist Golf Club among four of the biggest stars in sport.

Justin Thomas pitched in as an on-course reporter, bringing a mixture of humor and insight.

Woods and Manning took the lead on the third hole and never trailed, building a 3-up lead in fourballs on the front nine, with Manning making two birdies (one was a net par).

Brady, whose six Super Bowl titles are more than any NFL quarterback in history, took a beating on social media and in the broadcast booth from Charles Barkley, who twice offered $50,000 of his own money toward charity if Brady just hit the green on a par 3. He missed so far right it would be comparable to a pass that landed three rows into the stands.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton weighed in on Twitter, noting Brady signing as a free agent with Tampa Bay by saying he liked the "Florida" Brady much better.

Brooks Koepka offered $100,000 if Brady could just make a par.

One shot shut everyone up.

Never mind that Brady had to take a penalty drop before getting back to the fairway on the par-5 seventh. With his fourth shot, with Barkley needling him relentlessly, Brady's shot landed beyond the pin and spun back into the cup.

"Shut your mouth, Chuck," said Brady, whose microphone piece dangled off the back of his pants.

Woods still thought he won the hole with a 25-foot eagle putt that instead spun hard off the back of the lip. All that, and they ended up halving the hole.

Donations for COVID-19 relief funds kept piling up, and the entertainment didn't stop even as the rain returned. It caused a 45-minute delay at the start, and as Woods said on the practice range, "I don't normally play in conditions like this."

Mickelson brought out his "Tiger Slayer" putter that he used to shoot 64 at Pebble Beach in 2012, the last time they were in the final group on the PGA TOUR. Woods shot 75 that day. It didn't help Lefty with a few critical birdie putts to square the match, though he rolled in a 15-foot par putt to stay 1 down with two to play.

The back nine was modified alternate shot -- all players hit tee shots, and it was alternate shot from there. It was key for the quarterbacks to find the fairway for the pros to hit shots into the green, and Brady came through until the 18th.

Woods was playing for the first time since Feb. 16 when he finished last at Riviera in Los Angeles. He chose not to play the next four weeks with his back not feeling just right, and then the pandemic shut down golf and sports worldwide.

Woods looked sharp for the most part, with his game and his words. Mickelson on the fifth hole asked Woods to mark his ball from some 80 yards away.

"You want me to mark with a U.S. Open medal," said Woods, a three-time champion of the only major Mickelson hasn't won.

"Do you have one? I have some silver ones," Mickelson said, referring to his record six runner-up finishes.

Mickelson boasted about taking Woods down on his home course at Medalist, and now their TV matches are tied at 1, even with each getting a little help. Mickelson says he was a little nervous on the front nine until he found his groove, driving the green on the par-4 11th with Brady making a 20-footer for eagle that began their rally.

"Phil said he was nervous. I know Tom and I were comparing notes," Manning said. "To be behind the ropes in these guys' worlds, to be in the arena with them, it was really a special experience. I was not comfortable the entire time. Knowing $20 million was raised and helping people going through tough times, it was an honor to be invited.

"It's something I'll always remember."

See how each hole played out below.

Hole-by-hole

No. 1 (par 4, 399 yards)
We're finally underway as Samuel L. Jackson provides first-tee introductions from his couch. He has some special words for all but takes a few shots also, mostly at Brady. “Why do all old people move to Florida?” is one jab referencing Brady’s off-season move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mickelson is first with a rusty looking iron that is so far left it misses the sand and heads into pine straw. His partner Brady hooks one short and left also, finding the sand (and a puddle). Woods goes with less than driver and finds the left side of the fairway but Manning duck hooks his into an unplayable lie and needs Woods to help him with a drop. Mickelson hits decent recovery from 160 yards to front of green while Woods misses opportunity by fanning his wedge from 123 yards to the right side. Becomes a putting contest between Tiger and Phil who both come up about 6 feet short on long birdie tries. Mickelson sneaks his par in the left side before Woods matches.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Woods / Mickelson par)
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 4, Brady 5, Manning 6
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning ALL SQUARE Mickelson/Brady

No. 2 (par 4, 467 yards)
All except Brady find the fairway off the tee. The six-time Super Bowl champion doesn’t like his second shot from the sand as it heads into a penalty area. Mickelson misses the green to the right with his second shot but Manning and Woods both find the putting surface in regulation. On-course announcer Justin Thomas asks Mickelson to explain his pitch shot and we get an in-depth lesson from the veteran who explains every minor detail and then goes within a whisker of chipping in. “Everybody has the annoying friend who is really smart. You ask him something simple and he gives you the brain surgery answer,” basketball legend and analyst Charles Barkley responds. Both Manning and Woods are unable to make long birdies to win the hole, with Woods right on line but short. 

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par) 
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 4, Manning 4, Brady 5.
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning ALL SQUARE Mickelson/Brady 

No. 3 (par 5, 554 yards): Longest drive for pros challenge
The first par 5 of the day and it is the long drive challenge for Woods and Mickelson. A call comes in from Workday which adds $1.5 million more to the pot to go to charity. Mickelson steps up but blocks it to the left, and while it appears to be off the property he gets a safe sign from a spotter. “Someone from Workday threw that ball back in,” Woods jokes before piping one down the middle to pick up the first challenge win. They also get their first win after a birdie is conceded to Woods. While Manning and Brady were given a stroke here, both struggled off the tee, Brady right and Manning left. Brady ends up with an eight, net seven after a flubbed chip undoes some recovery work leaving Mickelson to try to grind out par. But his third shot went long and a chunked chip left a tricky par putt that Lefty is unable to slide in.

HOLE RESULT: Woods/Manning WIN (Birdie) 
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 6, Manning 6 (net 5), Brady 8 (net 7). 
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 1-up Mickelson/Brady 

No. 4 (par 3, 190 yards): Nearest to the pin challenge
First par 3 of the day gives a chance for Mickelson and Brady to regroup. Instead it provides a chance for Woods and Manning to step on the throat of their opponents who have started pretty scratchy. They both find the putting surface with Woods in tight at 8 feet, 4 inches to claim $125,000 for closest to the pin. We learned on the first tee Brady shot triple figures in a recent Medalist round and he is once again trying to turn it around. Barkley calls down and offers $50,000 of his own money if Brady can just find the green. Brady misses to the right. “I should have just said if you can keep it on the planet,” Barkley quips. Mickelson also misses to the right and chips up and on in two. After a read from Woods, Manning ends the hole with a 25-foot birdie putt. 

HOLE RESULT: Woods/Manning WIN (Birdie) 
SCORES: Woods 2, Mickelson 3, Manning 2, Brady 4.
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 2-up Mickelson/Brady 

No. 5 (par 4, 408 yards): One-Club challenge
It’s one-club challenge time as players must use the same club throughout the entire hole. Woods pulls 4-iron, Mickelson 6-iron. Brady and Manning also go with long irons. Brady continues to struggle, pulling his tee shot into water and after a couple other swipes puts the ball in his pocket. Woods finds his way to the green with relative ease but Mickelson has to scratch his way there after hooking his tee ball into trouble and punching out into more problems. He jokes about needing Woods to mark his ball on the green despite being well back. Woods offers the hole if he actually hits Woods’ ball. Incredibly Mickelson only misses by a yard or so as his ball hops up onto the green, right over Woods’ ball. Putting with an iron proves tough. Mickelson is just offline with his par chance and Woods can’t believe it as he walks after a 6-footer and sees it take a lip out. The hole is halved. 

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Bogey)
SCORES: Woods 5, Mickelson 5, Manning 6, Brady X.
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 2-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 6 (par 4, 476 yards)
A stroke hole for Manning and Brady so it could be their time to shine. It is … for Manning. A natural par, net birdie for the former Colts and Broncos star quarterback after he finds the fairway from the tee, the fringe on approach, and calmly two-putts. Woods had already locked up par before Manning converted from 6 feet. Brady could only muster a six, net five while Mickelson missed the fairway off the tee and missed the green on approach. His scrambling par was not enough.   

HOLE RESULT: Woods/Manning WIN (Net Birdie)
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 4, Manning 4 (net 3), Brady 6 (net 5).
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 3up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 7 (par 5, 521 yards)
“TB, welcome to The Match,” Woods quips after Brady provides the shot of the day so far – an incredible hole-out from the fairway for birdie. The moment comes after six holes of complete struggle for the NFL champion, including splitting his pants. And it also came just as Barkley threw direct shade at him, asking for a head-to-head match. The drama didn’t end there as Mickelson had a chance to chip in for eagle that hit the stick but didn’t fall. Woods had a lengthy eagle putt to steal the hole that tracked the entire way before spinning around the cup and out. It ended in a half, but clearly was a win for Brady’s psyche. And also for charity as Brooks Koepka had announced he’d donate $100,000 if Brady could rally for a par sometime on the front nine.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Birdie)
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 4, Manning 5, Brady 4.
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 3-up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 8 (par 3, 205 yards): Hole-in-one challenge for $25 million
Stroke hole for the NFL stars and $25 million on the line for an ace. Becomes a shootout between Manning and Mickelson as the only two to hit the green. Mickelson flirted with the big cash before coming to rest just outside 6 feet. Manning was just a little outside that mark but his natural birdie effort stayed out on the left allowing Mickelson the chance to halve. Brady, relatively quiet through his struggles, finds his voice again. “Eli would have made that one,” he says. Mickelson makes the clutch birdie to keep his team in the match.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Birdie)
SCORES: Woods 3, Mickelson 2, Manning 3 (net 2), Brady 4 (net 3).
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 3-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 9 (par 4, 468 yards)
Last hole of Fourball format ends with Mickelson having a long-range chance for birdie from the fringe to cut into the deficit, but it won’t drop. Woods secured his team a par with a sweet bunker shot to tap-in range. Brady has another hole with the ball in his pocket after finding water. The three-hole lead is large but with modified alternate shot now coming, anything could happen.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
SCORES: Woods 4, Mickelson 4, Manning 4, Brady X.
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 3up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 10 (par 4, 402 yards)
Modified alternate shot begins with Tom Brady finding a fairway and actually providing the tee shot for his team, but Mickelson cannot take advantage and pulls the approach. Manning steps up to hit his approach after Woods’ drive in fairway is chosen and throws it right over the flag but it rolls out to the fringe. Brady lags nicely from off the green and Woods cannot make birdie from the fringe so the hole is halved.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 3-up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 11 (par 4, 342 yards)
Don’t call it a comeback! Mickelson senses it is time to press so busts out his driver on this reachable par 4. He brings out one of his newly patented bombs and does indeed cut the corner and lands next to the pin before rolling out to the back fringe. “That’s a high nasty straight bomb. That is salty. You can feel (momentum) is changing. That’s how I roll; I’m all or nothing,” Mickelson says. But it is Brady who steps up in the clutch. Manning had responded by hitting another tight approach but Brady made sure Mickelson’s effort was not wasted with a long-range eagle putt. This isn’t over yet.

HOLE RESULT: Mickelson/Brady WIN (Eagle)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 2-up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 12 (par 3, 205 yards): Nearest to the pin challenge
A couple of great tee shots from Woods and Mickelson leave a putting contest between the quarterbacks. Manning is away from about 10 feet and leaves it just on the left, opening the door for Brady to make another move. From just outside 6 feet he power lips it out on the right side. It could prove to be a costly missed chance as we get closer to the end.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 2-up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 13 (par 5, 590 yards)
A downpour hits the course just to make things more difficult. Woods tries to muscle an approach from 290 yards but finds the greenside bunker. Manning flies the green with his bunker shot. After Woods chips, he has a chance to redeem himself with a par putt but can’t convert. It leaves Mickelson with a chance to win the hole from about 8 feet, but it dives low late and the lead remains as the foursome gets pelted with heavy rains.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Bogey)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 2-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 14 (par 4, 321 yards)
Are Woods and Manning leaking oil? The chances for the comeback keep presenting themselves for Brady and Mickelson. After they failed to make moves on the previous two holes, they are once again given a shot at cutting into the lead from close range. This time it is Brady who has a putt inside 10 feet for the win. The former Patriot turned Buccaneer pulls it slightly offline and it appears Woods and Manning survive another scare. That is until Manning quick fires his 2-foot par chance that lips out, handing the others the hole. The lead is now just one hole.

HOLE RESULT: Mickelson/Brady WIN (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 1-up over Mickelson/Brady

No. 15 (par 4, 488 yards): Longest drive for amateurs
Strategy of taking quarterback tee shots when they find the fairway continues for both teams here. Brady ends up leaving Mickelson some meat on the bone on the green and a huge moment comes as Lefty faces some 15 feet to halve the hole and stay just one down with three to play. The little curler never looks like missing as the clutch version of Mickelson steps up and ensures the match has some twists and turns left in it yet.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 1-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 16 (par 3, 212 yards): Hole-in-one challenge for $25 million
With $25 million on the line for a hole-in-one and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson jumping in and offering 100,000 meals per shot inside 12 feet on this hole, it takes on some extra meaning. Wilson ends up reaching into his pocket for 300,000 meals as three of the four throw darts. Incredibly the only one to hit outside the mark is Woods and the winner is Manning who had insurance brokers nervous when he stiffed it to 17 inches! That birdie was conceded but Mickelson is clutch once again to convert a 6-footer – from Brady’s great tee ball – to stay just one down with two to play. 

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Birdie)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 1-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 17 (par 5, 550 yards)
As the pressure ratchets up, both golf pros hit good shots off the tee allowing the quarterbacks to hit layups and avoid trouble. It becomes an approach contest for Woods and Mickelson to try to leave their teammates with a putt. Woods finds the surface but leaves some 30 feet. Mickelson smells an opening and gets one into about 20 feet. The earlier rain delay means light is getting low, especially in overcast conditions. “It’s like a two-minute drill, working against the clock,” Manning says. His birdie putt has great speed and while it doesn’t drop, it does secure par. Brady can tie the match if he makes. Mickelson reads it to barely break, just a touch left, but Brady pushes it and it doesn’t reach the hole. Mickelson concedes his read was a little off also after a second practice attempt slides right. The halve means Mickelson and Brady must win the last outright to force sudden death.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/Manning 1-up over Mickelson/Brady 

No. 18 (par 4, 444 yards)
Woods and Manning are able to close out a 1-up victory with a solid performance on the final hole. The pressure of the final hole fell to the quarterbacks after they were unable to find the fairway off the tee, forcing both teams to use the professional tee shots and thus leave approach shots to their teammates. Brady hit his iron shot fat and it came up a few yards short of the green while Manning was able to catch a piece of the green. Knowing only a win would keep them alive, Mickelson paced off the chip shot but couldn’t find the magic needed, leaving the ball a few feet below the hole. Woods was then presented with the need to just lag the ball for the win. He nearly made the putt, nestling it to just inches. “I still want to see Peyton knock that in,” Mickelson joked before removing his cap and congratulating the winners with the now customary air fist bumps. In all, $20 million was raised for COVID-19 relief efforts.

HOLE RESULT: Halved (Par)
MATCH SCORE: Woods/M