Mickelson, Barkley win Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change

Phil Mickelson proved he has a future as a golf coach if he so desires after turning perennial golf struggler Charles Barkley into a more than capable partner to dominate Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change.

Despite losing the first hole at Stone Canyon Golf Club, the Mickelson / Barkley duo took control from that point and closed things out on the 15th hole in the modified alternate shot format, winning 4 and 3.

But more important than the championship belts Mickelson and Barkley earned was the $5,455,000 raised to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and organizations that support them (Thurgood Marshall Fund, United Negro College Fund). Over 3.5 million meals were also donated to Feeding America as part of some of the charitable efforts linked to the contest.

Mickelson was able to guide NBA legend Barkley, who for the most part was able to keep his notoriously unreliable swing under control, over two-time Super Bowl champion Manning and current Golden State Warriors legend and three-time NBA Champion Curry.

Barkley had the occasional mishap, but with Mickelson directing his 25-handicap teammate to hit safe irons off the tee so he could handle the majority of approach shots the pair became too formidable for their opponents.

A full run down of the action, collated from our live blog, can be found below

HOLE-BY-HOLE

Hole 1: (par 4, 426 yards)

The Curry Manning team gets off to a fine start after Curry splits the fairway. Mickelson then busts out his driver and lets the group know, “I wouldn’t normally hit driver here but I just want to set the tone,” and cuts the corner of the dogleg left opener, but finds the rough. Barkley then takes iron and hits a perfect draw into the fairway, but it’s well back meaning they decide to use Mickelson’s shot.

Manning pulls his approach ever so slightly to the fringe of the green, but ensures Curry will get a birdie look from around 20 feet. Mickelson tells Barkley the shot is 70 yards as he’s worried about pace through the rough. It’s actually 55 yards. Mickelson math backfires and Barkley hits it through the green to the back fringe leaving about 70-feet.

“I won’t do that to you again,” the TOUR star is forced to say to his teammate.

Mickelson lags it down to six-feet giving Curry a chance to win the hole, but his effort comes up well short.

“I don’t recall Tiger leaving you five-footers,” Mickelson chirps to Manning referencing the previous Capital One’s The Match where Tiger Woods and Manning bested Mickelson and Tom Brady 1up.

Barkley leaves his par putt on the high edge and lips out but Manning makes no mistake and an early lead is established.

Hole Result: Curry Manning WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Bogey
Match Score: Curry Manning 1up Mickelson Barkley

Hole 2: (par 5, 559 yards)

A change in strategy for the Mickelson Barkley team is instituted immediately as Barkley defies all odds and finds his second straight fairway off the tee. Mickelson’s drive is significantly longer, but they choose Barkley’s ball, allowing Phil to try to reach the green in two. The 50-year-old comes up just short to the front of the green.

After a sweet Manning drive, Curry lays up to a number that Manning clearly loved as his wedge shot tracks to the hole and actually lips out before settling about six-feet away. Unfortunately, Curry pushes the birdie putt out to the right.

That miss proves costly as Barkley produces an impressive long lag putt from the front of the green to five-feet and given the chance to square The Match, Mickelson makes no mistake.

“I made a mistake there in strategy and gave them a hole,” Mickelson says of the opening hole. “But Chuck and I can make pars and birdies on this course if we play to our strengths and with him that’s his putting so I’ll work on giving him those chances.”

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Birdie
Match Score: Curry Manning ALL SQUARE Mickelson Barkley

Hole 3: (par 4, 304 yards)We’ve hit the Ford Mustang Mach-E Drivable par 4 challenge where a Hole-in-One would trigger a $5 million donation to HBCUs, an eagle nets $1 million, a drive within 10-feet is worth $250,000 and the winner of the hole $100,000.

Mickelson doesn’t even need driver and lets loose, coming up with a shot to the back fringe of the green. Barkley brings out his driver for the first time and snipes a low bullet that they can dismiss.

Both Curry and Manning have a crack with driver with the former NFL star’s shot just short and right in the rough the best of the two. Curry chips out, but the ball rolls out significantly so Manning must try for an unlikely birdie. It doesn’t quite have the gas to get there and they settle for par.

Barkley has a putt for the $1 million and the hole with Mickelson reminding him to “quieten his mind,” and forget about the money, the cameras and all of the outside noise. His 25-foot eagle effort has some heat and runs five-feet past. The stress of it all is evident on his face, but you’d be hard pressed finding many 25 handicappers (Barkley’s official number) able to do much better under the spotlight like this.

Mickelson proves his pedigree by converting the birdie to win the hole and take their first lead in The Match.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Birdie
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 1up Curry Manning

Hole 4: (par 4, 374 yards)

Barkley has clearly been in some sort of golf boot camp like back in the day when he was part of the Hank Haney Project on Golf Channel. His swing is holding up fairly well under pressure and he once again finds the middle of the fairway off the tee. This allows Mickelson to go full flex with his calves and try to hit a bomb up near the green.

“I’ve only seen one better resurrection,” Gary McCord quips of Barkley’s game in commentary.

Mickelson does hit a huge drive that finds the fairway, but the 50-yard pitch would have to go over a bunker and find the correct tier of the green so he learns from the opening hole and decides to back his approach game from distance against Barkley’s short game. A clever shot to about 18-feet makes the strategy appear genius.

Manning’s drive hooks into the left rough leaving Curry under enormous pressure given the momentum of The Match. The Warriors weapon steps up in the clutch and pounds a good drive up near the green, albeit into the left rough. The angle for the short wedge approach is a good one though. Manning, mindful of needing to get the ball to the back tier where the pin is located, is just a tad aggressive and sends the second shot into the back rough, but close enough for Curry to use his putter for their third. That effort rolls some 10-feet past the pin.

Barkley’s attempt to win the hole with birdie from 18 feet is tracking, but ends up just short. It’s good enough though when Manning pushes his par putt.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 2up Curry Manning

Hole 5: (par 4, 423 yards)Trouble off the tee for both Mickelson and Barkley as they end up in the left rough on a slope. Manning finds the left first cut which gives Curry a chance to go hard at one. He tattoos it, but it catches a bunker on the left side of the fairway.

“That was hit a long way,” Mickelson says of Curry’s shot.

“Was that hellacious?” Curry asks.

“Yeah but if it is in the bunker you don’t want to go bragging about it,” Mickelson fires.

As players reach the fairway, the chatter starts to take an even more competitive turn.

“What happened on that shot… I’d like to see a little more of those,” Manning says to Barkley.

But after Curry finds a greenside bunker on approach Mickelson starts his world renowned talk.

He calls his shot, letting everyone know he will put it to about 20-feet from the hole in a spot Barkley was practicing his putting from… and goes pretty close to doing just that, going a little long to the back fringe. And a slow motion replay brings more calf action in to play.

“I have been in the gym every day activating them daily, they are ready,” Mickelson says. “You can see the intimidation has already begun.”

After Manning catches his bunker shot thin to the back rough, Mickelson starts announcing how two putts will be enough but “let’s make it anyway.” When Curry chunks a chip they confidently concede a bogey… “We don’t want handouts, we want to earn it,” Mickelson grins. Barkley takes a better shot saying, “We gonna run out of daylight,” when explaining the concession.

Barkley puts the birdie attempt five-feet past and Mickelson makes the par, but only after the ball does a victory lap of the hole.

“We’re 14-0 down and the kid hasn’t got the kicking tee off the field yet,” Manning says.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 3up Curry Manning

Hole 6: (par 3, 131 yards)

TNT legend Ernie Johnson joins the telecast for the first par three of the round and at one point quips to Mickelson how he’s worried he might “lose your voice before the end.”

Mickelson’s tongue is as sharp as his wedges.

“We’re not going all 18, we will be done well before that,” he says.

Barkley can’t find the green, but Mickelson rescues things by shaping one to about 20-feet.

Manning once again fights his right to left ball flight and ends up in the water feature on this short and pretty hole. Under extreme pressure now, Curry finds his zone and sticks his shot to six-feet.

Barkley has to attempt his birdie after his NBA on TNT colleagues Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith spend several minutes trash talking him. It comes up short.

With the door open, Manning has a short birdie look to stop the bleeding but his aggressive effort lips out hard from the left side.

Hole Result: Halved
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 3up Curry Manning

Hole 7: (par 5, 513 yards)What starts as a golden opportunity for Curry and Manning turns into a nightmare as Mickelson and Barkley extend their commanding lead.

Despite Mickelson finding the desert off the tee and Barkley, who was about to hit driver only to be called off his shot to hit 5-iron, pull hooking his shot short and left – the Curry / Manning combo find a way to implode.

After Barkley punches out sideways, Mickelson finds the middle of the green in three. Meanwhile, incredibly Curry decides to lay up and Manning then pulls his approach into the greenside bunker. From there Curry goes long, Manning misses the putt from the back fringe and Curry misses from six feet to make a serious bird of it.

We learn Curry and Manning played a morning practice round in just 50 minutes. “Looks like they should have taken a little longer,” International Presidents Cup captain Trevor Immelman says.

After the hole, Barkley looks down the camera and announces the network needs “to get some of those Law and Order reruns ready,” as he anticipates a quick kill.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Double Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 4up Curry Manning

Hole 8: (par 4, 340 yards)

Is it the start of a comeback?

Mickelson is the beneficiary of a room-service bounce after his drive looks set to find cactus country, but hits a boulder and ricochets back near the fairway. Being the course owner has its perks it seems.

But Curry has similar luck and Manning shows lovely touch to wedge it to around six-feet. Barkley finds the green as well, but on the lower tier forcing Mickelson to attempt birdie from long range.

He lags to four-feet, but a conceded par is not forthcoming at all from those staring a four-hole deficit in the face. Curry misses the birdie on the low side but when Barkley pulls the par putt left there is life for Manning and Curry again.

Hole Result: Curry Manning WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Bogey
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 3up Curry Manning

Hole 9: (par 3, 177 yards)Top Tracer shows off its full range of capabilities as Barkley shanks one off the tee and it manages to keep up. But the big man makes up for it with a brilliant putt from the rough after they’re forced to use Mickelson’s tee ball.

Manning and Curry both hit near identical tee shots to about 20-feet, but it is the former Colts and Broncos quarterback who gets the chance to cut the deficit heading to the turn.

Unfortunately, his birdie try stays out on the right side and they have to settle for a half and are down three at the turn.

Hole Result: Halved
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 3up Curry Manning

Hole 10: (par 5, 622 yards)

Incredible picturesque scenes of the Arizona desert frame the shot from the elevated 10th tee box. It’s a small teeing area so you wouldn’t want to swing out of your shoes and lose your balance. If you do, you might find a few cactus barbs in your behind.

Manning, Barkley and Mickelson find the fairway, but Curry, on advice from Mickelson, takes an aggressive line towards a water hazard. Mickelson claimed Curry couldn’t reach the hazard… but he did just that.

Using Manning’s tee ball, Curry refuses to lay up this time and lasers one to the greenside bunker. Mickelson’s approach comes up just short of the green leaving Barkley a long range eagle try from the fringe and he duly lags it to three-feet with great touch.

Short-sided, Manning’s bunker shot runs well past the pin and down to the front of the green from where Curry can’t convert a long-range birdie try. Mickelson slots home the birdie and puts his team on the brink of victory well out from the clubhouse.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Birdie
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 4up Curry Manning

Hole 11: (par 4, 435 yards)A hacker battle breaks out on this hole, the first time both teams have shown significant struggle at the same time, but it is Curry and Manning who secure a much needed win.

Tee troubles see Barkley need to attempt to rescue a ball from the desert, but he’s unable to do so and Mickelson’s calves get lost in knee high desert bushes as he’s forced to punch out. They’re still not on the putting surface after four shots, but Curry’s approach finds a bunker and Manning’s escape from the sand leaves a long range par putt that Curry fails to put within gimme range.

It’s inconsequential in the end as Mickelson fails to chip in and Barkley misses the putt for double bogey.

Hole Result: Curry Manning WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Triple Bogey
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 3up Curry Manning

Hole 12: (par 4, 458 yards)

The less said about this hole the better. Both teams were forced into unplayable penalties after wayward tee shots from all four competitors found the desert.

While Mickelson was able to recover somewhere up near the green with the third shot, the same couldn’t be said for Manning and Curry who needed to hit two shots from wasteland and one from sand before securing a triple bogey.

In the end a lag from Mickelson to set up a double bogey was enough.

Manning holds the NFL record with 43 fourth quarter comebacks… but coming back from here might dwarf all of those.

Hole Result: Mickelson Barkley WIN
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Triple Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Double Bogey
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 4up Curry Manning

Hole 13: (Par 4, 403 yards)Bombs away as Mickelson unleashes one over the desert, cuts a corner and finds the grass again. The Hall-of-Famer can smell the blood in the water and is now just putting on a show. But Barkley comes up short on approach as the two debate whether he should hit a 60 or 56 degree wedge.

Manning and Curry sit in the box seat after finding the green in regulation, but contrary to their usual clutch nature, the duo find a way to three-putt and miss the chance to reduce the significant hole they find themselves in. The big moment was left to Curry from about seven feet, but another lip out ensured that only a miracle could save them from here.

Hole Result: Halved
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Bogey; Mickelson Barkley – Bogey
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 4up Curry Manning

Hole 14 (par 3, 154 yards)Barkley has the chance to win The Match after Mickelson and Curry find the green off the tee, but Manning can’t get the mid-range birdie try to go.

The former Phoenix Sun gives it a decent crack, but the victory party will have to wait at least one more hole. He takes great pleasure in being able to let the folks at home know he’s just recently learned the term “dormie”… as indeed they sit four up with four to play.

Hole Result: Halved
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Par; Mickelson Barkley – Par
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley 4up Curry Manning

Hole 15: (par 5, 578 yards)

The lone hole with a different format is where things end up as the sun goes close to ducking behind the awesome Arizona mountains. After modified alternate shot had been used exclusively to this point, this par five is to be played as a scramble hole. This essentially means Mickelson is taking on Manning and Curry.

Both teams find themselves in a greenside bunker in two shots and after setting up six-foot birdie tries, Manning gives his team life with a lovely putt.

Barkley is given the first chance to close out the match, but his attempt dives across the hole late meaning it falls to Mickelson to seal the deal. He makes no mistake, meaning he’s now the beneficiary of a 2-1 record over the three versions of Capital One’s The Match as the only player to be part of them all.

Hole Result: Halved
Hole Scores: Curry Manning – Birdie; Mickelson Barkley – Birdie
Match Score: Mickelson Barkley defeat Curry Manning 4 and 3.