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Phil Mickelson beats Tiger Woods in ‘The Match,’ takes home $9 million jackpot

Published

7 years ago

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The golfing world was unsure of what to expect when Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods went head-to-head in Las Vegas this afternoon for $9 million, and with a small crowd following the two men and somewhat awkward banter between the two, the event had an eerie feel to it early on.

As for the golf, on the opening hole, Mickelson had nine feet for birdie to take the lead in the match and cost Woods $200k after the two had made a pre-match side bet that Mickelson would birdie the hole. But his putt didn’t drop, to the delight of Woods who while wearing a beaming smile declared “That hurts the pocket.”

However, his smile was short-lived, as the 14-time major champion failed to convert a short par putt on the second hole to allow Mickelson to draw first blood and go 1 up.

The 137-yard fifth hole delivered the next piece of action. A $100k closest-to-the-hole challenge initiated by Mickelson was agreed upon and won comfortably by Lefty, who stuffed his tee-shot in tight. However, Mickelson was unable to drain the putt and the hole was halved.

Woods birdied the par-5 seventh to level the match. Then, the two agreed on a $200k closest-to-the-hole contest at the par-3 eighth. Mickelson won the challenge and the hole after a Woods three-putt.

It was all halves until the two men reached the par-4 11th hole. Both players’ tee shots landed over the green. After Woods secured his birdie with a tidy chip, Mickelson was unable to counter, failing to get up and down, and the match was all tied up.

A sublime wedge shot on 12 set up the easiest of birdies for Woods and gave him a 1 up advantage with six holes to play. However, Mickelson’s mood picked up after winning a closest-to-the-hole challenge on the par-3 13th, costing Woods $300k. Mickelson also took the hole to square things up.

Woods then failed to get up and down on the par-4 15th, and his bogey resulted in him falling one behind Mickelson with just three holes remaining. But on 17, with his back firmly against the wall, Woods pulled a rabbit out of the hat, holing out from off the green to tie the match going down the 18th hole.

The two men parred the 18th and went back to the tee for a sudden-death playoff. After both found trouble on the first playoff hole, Woods had a nine-foot putt to win the match but missed on the low side.

A 93-yard “20th hole” was set up to decide affairs. Woods and Mickelson hit from a makeshift tee on the practice green, lofting their wedge approach shots to the 18th green. On the third occasion, after both recorded par twice, Woods had seven feet for birdie. He limply hit his putt, however, leaving Mickelson with just outside four feet for birdie, which he duly dispatched, bringing home with it the $9 million jackpot.

 

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at gianni@golfwrx.com

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Roy

    Nov 24, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    On a side note, Vegas bookies were said to be up 8:95M over the weekend……

    Reply Report comment

  2. Tom

    Nov 24, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    Fed Ex Cup full season bonus is $10 million….these two has beens play 18 holes for $9 million…..disgraceful!

    Reply Report comment

  3. Bull Connor

    Nov 24, 2018 at 1:58 pm

    !!ekoj gnikcuF Jerry Cooney of golf’s great White Hope vs a Jack Johnson.

    Reply Report comment

  4. Majduffer

    Nov 24, 2018 at 12:33 pm

    I might have paid to see it if it would have a skins game and they added 2 other players like rickie and justin. The old guard versus the new guard. Then all the short putts missed would have really been important. Secondly, not allowing spectators was a total disservice to their fans. I also found it ironic that the player’s sponsors didn’t step up and make it free to all the fans who buy their products. What a bunch of cheap skates and I will not be buying any of their products in the future.

    Reply Report comment

  5. Steven Simeon

    Nov 24, 2018 at 10:52 am

    I watched the match, it was worth $ 20, I guess. I paid somewhat close attention, but I dont remember twin 69’s and Tiger making 6 birdies ?? I was sober too

    Reply Report comment

  6. Under the roof

    Nov 24, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Far better entertainment than I thought it was going to be. Both we’re nervy and uncomfortable, which showed me they are human; welcome to match play.

    Reply Report comment

  7. MD

    Nov 24, 2018 at 2:52 am

    They couldn’t have picked a worse course if they wanted it to be more flash bang entertaining.
    But it ended up more like the old Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, where the matches were low-key, like this.
    Everybody expects fireworks and scores of 63s all the time now, but in these serious situations one on one on a tricky course that doesn’t give up too many easy putts, this is what happens.
    Even Hogan-Snead when they were in their 50’s for the Shell program ended up only a couple shots off Par and not very exciting in a fireworks way, but nonetheless mighty educational for the viewers, still.

    Reply Report comment

    • Simms

      Nov 24, 2018 at 4:41 pm

      100% agree with you, maybe the Golf Channel could grab a few sponsors and do a series like “Shell’s) be 100% better then the waste of time instruction shows they have where even the same instructors go over the same shots with different ideas each and every week.

      Reply Report comment

  8. Mad-Mex

    Nov 23, 2018 at 11:01 pm

    All I want to know is how many paid to see this,,,,,,,,,,,

    Reply Report comment

  9. JP

    Nov 23, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    So they are both at the point of their careers that they are average. Yippee. Next time invite Cam Champ or Justin Thomas or……….

    Reply Report comment

  10. kick in double

    Nov 23, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    Kinda wish there werent announcers for this and it was just them and their caddies doing all the talking. The little bit i saw sounded like the announcers were explaining golf to a 5 year old.

    Reply Report comment

  11. Golfguy3

    Nov 23, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    I wish all golf tournaments were broadcast like this one. No commercials and the guys played at a good pace. I liked the side bets but you coykd tell both players were nervous. Also, its a nice course but not a $500.00 round.

    Reply Report comment

    • Don

      Nov 24, 2018 at 11:09 am

      First, I mostly was glad I decided to watch it. But your comment about being no commercials? There were the several Capital One ones with Jackson and Barkley ad the repeated references to traj graphics broght to the event by Capital One and the constant references and logo re MGM betting.

      No apparent control of the mics in a control booth was a problem for me anyway as the sound from all miked players going all at the same time (including I thin Tiger’s loud sniffling especially on the front 9) made it hard to hear individual comments well. Besides the peanut gallery of Barclay and all that were speaking over them.
      I don’t get why the transmission (at least for me on Shaw in Canada) stopped after the shaking hands after the final putt and did stay on for any presentation or comments at same. Even with the extra holes, there was still time left for tye slotted 6 hours on PPV.

      Reply Report comment

  12. Wes B

    Nov 23, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    I thought it was very entertaining. Neither guys seemed to play that well at all but its still Tiger and Phil. Loved it!

    Reply Report comment

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

on

May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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