Tiger and Rory vs. Spieth and JT: What to watch at The Match

If you were hoping for the venom of a Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods showdown successful erstwhile iterations of The Match -- oregon surely what a rematch mightiness bring contiguous -- past Saturday night's made-for-TV clash featuring Woods and satellite No. 1 Rory McIlroy against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas mightiness look much similar a pillow fight.

During a 30-minute quality league connected Zoom up of the 12-hole lucifer astatine Pelican Golf Club extracurricular Tampa, Florida, 1 happening was abundantly clear: These guys truly similar each other.

"If you told myself and JT successful 2012 erstwhile we were successful assemblage that we'd beryllium playing against these 2 successful a match, that would beryllium a really, truly chill thing," Spieth said. "We privation to triumph it due to the fact that of however overmuch these guys inspired us."

Woods, 46, has competed successful 2 erstwhile editions of The Match. It volition beryllium the debuts for McIlroy, Spieth and Thomas.

Woods, a 15-time large champion, plans to vie adjacent arsenic helium is struggling to retrieve from plantar fasciitis successful his close foot. He was forced to propulsion retired of past week's Hero World Challenge successful the Bahamas, which benefits his foundation, and told reporters determination that doctors advised him that the achy information is related to injuries helium suffered successful a car wreck extracurricular Los Angeles successful February 2021.

Woods said being able to usage a play cart volition assistance him tremendously, and that "it's conscionable hard getting from constituent A to constituent B." He competed successful conscionable 9 rounds successful 3 majors past year. His past commencement was a missed chopped astatine the 150th Open Championship astatine St. Andrews successful July.

Golf fans volition surely beryllium blessed to spot Woods swinging a nine again. He besides plans to play with his son, Charlie, successful adjacent week's PNC Championship successful Orlando, Florida. Woods volition again beryllium capable to usage a cart successful that 36-hole event.

With erstwhile NBA large Charles Barkley erstwhile again providing commentary during The Match, determination figures to beryllium plentifulness of humor. And it's hard to ideate that determination won't beryllium a fewer jabs astatine LIV Golf and its CEO and commissioner, two-time Open victor Greg Norman, during what mightiness beryllium an infomercial for the PGA Tour. Last week, McIlroy told the Independent of London that helium plans "to marque it my concern present to beryllium arsenic overmuch of a symptom successful [Norman's] arse arsenic possible."

While the golfers are affable competitors, McIlroy says nary of them similar to lose.

"I've been connected the incorrect broadside of them successful the Ryder Cup earlier I'm trying to get 1 backmost connected them," said McIlroy. "I couldn't inquire for a amended partner. The spouse I had against them antecedently doesn't rather comparison to the 1 I'll person connected Saturday night."

The 12-hole lucifer volition commencement astatine 6 p.m. ET and beryllium played nether the lights. It's a best-ball format, successful which each subordinate plays his ain shot connected holes and the lowest people of the 2 players counts arsenic the squad score.

"I tin archer you 1 thing: I've got the No. 1 subordinate successful the satellite connected my team, truthful I'm good," Woods said. "He'll person the champion cheerleader he's ever had."

McIlroy is expecting much from his teammate.

Thomas and Spieth are flimsy favorites (-130) implicit McIlroy and Woods (+110), according to oddsmakers astatine Caesars Sportsbook.

"(Tiger is) astir apt the champion robust subordinate who has ever lived," McIlroy said. "Probably the champion golfer who has ever lived, period. I deliberation if helium tin get it retired determination successful the fairway and get immoderate looks from the fairway, I deliberation we're going to person a precise bully chance."

There figures to beryllium plentifulness of affable trash-talking starting with the archetypal tee shots.

"It's benignant of hard to trash speech them," Thomas said. "I consciousness similar connected the archetypal tee Jordan and I conscionable request to get it retired successful the unfastened that, OK, you guys person much majors than us, you person much FedEx Cups than us, you some person an airplane and we don't, let's conscionable get that retired successful the unfastened that mode we don't get it utilized against america successful our match."

"They're some speedy and witty," Spieth said. "I was saying to Justin that we mightiness person to instrumentality the bully feline route, which isn't mean for america successful these benignant of matches."

"Either way, it won't work," Woods added.