Woods, Manning edge Mickelson, Brady as $20M is raised

Tiger Woods was in mid-sentence discussing how he couldn’t imagine getting out on an NFL football field. Then he stopped and looked to his right.

“See, you laugh,” Woods said as legendary NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning cackled even harder.

“There were a few times on the front nine when I couldn’t find the ball,” Brady said.

It was Brady and Manning who were on foreign soil on Sunday as they joined Woods and Phil Mickelson on the fairways and roughs for “The Match: Champions for Charity” at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.

Woods and Manning teamed up for a 1 up victory over Mickelson and Brady during a match held partly in heavy rain. But the elements were minor stuff for this foursome, who raised $20 million for coronavirus relief.

“To go behind the ropes into these guys’ world and to kind of be in the arena with them is really a special experience,” Manning said afterward on Turner’s broadcast. “I was not comfortable the entire time from the first tee all the way to down here (on 18), but knowing that $20 million was raised and helping people that are really going through tough times is an honor for Tom and I both to be invited by Phil and Tiger to play in this match.

“It’s really something that I will always remember and cherish.”

Manning was instrumental as he and Woods won three of the first six holes during the best-ball format to build a lead they would not relinquish.

The pair won the third hole and Manning increased the lead to 2 up when he knocked down a birdie putt on No. 4. He made another birdie putt on No. 6 to make it 3-up.

After the front nine was completed, the format changed to modified alternate shot and Mickelson and Brady teamed up for superb action on No. 11.

Mickelson’s drive landed on the green. Brady, looking as calm as he might under Super Bowl pressure, drilled an eagle putt to cut their deficit to 2 up.

The duo won another hole on 14 when Manning missed a short putt as the rain pounded down. But there would be no Brady-led comeback on this day as the final four holes were halved.

“We fought hard,” Mickelson said. “I was a little nervous, a little tight on the front nine. And our man (Brady) kept us in there and the back nine, he really shined and hit some great shots. We made a run and came really close.”

Brady, the new quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did have a highlight on the front nine when he holed in from the fairway from about 150 yards for a birdie on No. 7.

At the end, Mickelson and Brady found themselves in a tough situation on No. 18 as Woods faced a two-putt to win the match. Woods left a long putt about two feet shy and Mickelson and Brady conceded to end the festivities.

“We all came together and raised $20 million for those who have been severely affected,” said Woods, who is a member of the course located not far from his home in Jupiter, Fla. “The fact that those guys — Tom and Peyton — we take our hats off to them to come out. This is our arena. This is what we do for a living.”

–Field Level Media