Miami—Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson haven’t set a date for their charity golf showdown alongside NFL stars Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but the trash talk is already abundant.
Woods, a 15-time major winner and the reigning Masters champion, told sponsor GolfTV on Thursday that group text messages between the famed foursome have been heavy on bragging rights over championships captured.
“There has been a little bit of trash talk already, a little bit of banter back and forth,” Woods said.
“Whether it’s ‘I might need extra caddies to carry my Super Bowls,’ because he has more Super Bowls than my partner or, ‘I’ve got more majors than Phil, so I’m going to have to have a truck come up to the first tee and U-Haul it out,’ we’ve had banter back and forth, and it has been fantastic.
“It’s typical us. It’s what we do. We like to give out the needle and to give out the needle you’ve got to be able to take it. It has been fun and it’ll be like that when we play, when we compete.”
The Match: Champions for Charity was announced on Wednesday, with no date, location or format revealed, although Woods confirmed he and retired two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Manning will face six-time Super Bowl winner Brady, the New England Patriots legend who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month, and Mickelson, a five-time major winner.
Mickelson defeated Woods in extra holes to win a $9 million one-on-one showdown in November 2018 at Las Vegas.
“After feeling the sting of defeat the first time around, looks like @TigerWoods is bringing a ringer to The Match (#PeytonManning),” Mickelson tweeted. “I’m bringing a (goat emoji for Greatest of All Time). @TomBrady—Ready to hit (bombs)?”
The event will be used as a fundraiser for coronavirus pandemic relief efforts.
“We’re coming together to help other people,” Woods said. “We’re coming together to showcase golf in a different way, but it’s about charity. That’s the reason why we’re all doing this.”
The event, which must be approved by the US PGA Tour, could show how a foursome can compete in a televised event with no spectators and observe social distancing safeguards to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
The PGA Tour is looking at ending what would be a three-month hiatus on June 11 at Fort Worth, Texas, with no spectators.
