There are a few flashes in time that help define sporting events as we know them. From Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard Around The World" to "The Shot" by Michael Jordan and everything in between, there are instances when time stands still, and everyone is fixated on that one moment.
When rumors began swirling that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were going to play for $10 million, they were quickly dismissed as a publicity stunt. Today, we're officially three months away from the most anticipated golf match of all time.
After Woods and Mickelson played a practice round together earlier this year at The Masters in Augusta, then again a few weeks later at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the two stirred the pot saying that they'd been in talks, and were interested in the high-stakes match.
"The excitement that's been going on around here, it gets me thinking," Mickelson said in July. "Why don't we just bypass all the ancillary stuff of a tournament and just go head-to-head and just have kind of a high-stakes, winner-take-all match?"
Well, after weeks of deliberation and discussing specifics, we finally have the showdown we've been waiting for.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will play 18 holes of match play golf on November 23 at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The winner will take home $9 million in what is simply being billed as "The Match."
Turner Sports acquired the rights to the live pay-per-view coverage of the match between two legends with a combined 122 PGA Tour victories and 19 major championships. The head-to-head matchup will be available on B/R Live and DirecTV.
Leading up to the event, Bleacher Report, HBO Sports and TNT will televise all-access specials and select content to hype the once-in-a-lifetime match.
Grab some leftovers on Thanksgiving weekend, pull up a chair and enjoy the two golfers who helped carry the PGA's ratings for much of the last 20 years in the showdown we all deserve.
Forget the fact that the 42-year-old Woods is playing in his first FedEx Cup Playoffs since 2013 at the Northern Trust this weekend — we've got a ground-breaking match in our midst.
This isn't joking round between friends, either. You can guarantee that both competitors want to win, and do it in grand style. Every shot matters when there is no tomorrow.
No matter the outcome, one thing is for certain: golf will never be the same.
It's Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson one-on-one for NINE MILLION freaking dollars.
