Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady will have different opponents for The Match this time around, going head-to-head against Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers on July 6
The Match, 2021 version is coming, and there’s sure to be plenty of bombed drives, witty banter, and maybe even a scientific debate or two.
Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady will team up once again to take on Bryson DeChambeau and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on July 6 at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. The match will be played in a modified alternate shot format and be broadcast exclusively on TNT beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
Last May, Mickelson and Brady went up against Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in the made-for-TV special, losing the match by one shot despite Brady holing out from the fairway for an eagle. The event raised $20 million for charity and was just the start of what turned out to be a momentous year for both of them.
Tom Brady is already trash-talking Aaron Rodgers ahead of The Match
Brady left the New England Patriots, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and led them all the way to the Super Bowl for his seventh ring. Mickelson, at age 50 long past his prime and without a top-10 in more than a year, earned his sixth major championship on Sunday at the PGA Championship, becoming the oldest major championship in golf history.
Their opponents are two of the most fascinated characters in their respective sports. DeChambeau’s attempt to bulk up and increase his driving distance has revolutionized the game and led to three PGA Tour wins and a U.S. Open title over the last year.
Rodgers, locked in a bitter dispute with the Packers, showed off his versatility by guest-hosting Jeopardy! for two weeks in April after winning the Celebrity edition in 2015.
DeChambeau majored in physics at SMU and uses an analytical, scientific approach to the game. If anything, the conversation between the two of them should offer some intellectual stimulation.
DeChambeau and Mickelson will help provide the power game. DeChambeau leads the PGA Tour this year in driving distance. Mickelson was 15th at the PGA Championship and even hit the longest drive of the week at the par-five 16th on Sunday, 366 yards to set up a birdie on his way to lifting the Wanamaker Trophy.
His victory on Sunday was as historic as it was unexpected. Mickelson didn’t have a top-20 finish all season and last contended in a major championship nearly five years ago. He took only one day to celebrate, flying back home to San Diego on Sunday night and staying up until six in the morning with his wife, Amy, before heading to play in the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, this week.
Whether this is the start of a career rebirth or just one special moment, even he doesn’t know for sure. “One of two things is going to happen. Either that’s going to be my last win, and I’m going to have one of the most cherished victories of my career to look back on and cherish for a long time,” he said on Wednesday.
“Or I also may have kind of found a little something that helps me stay a little more present and helps me focus throughout the round a little bit longer, and maybe I can execute and play golf at the highest level for a nice extended period of time now. I don’t know which one it’s going to be. Either way, they’re both positive.”
The two Super Bowl champion quarterbacks are no strangers to golf. Brady plays with a respectable eight handicap. Rodgers has played the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am since at least 2012 and finished tied for ninth in 2020 with partner Max Homa.
The match will take place less than three weeks before they report to training camp, although whether Rodgers is still with the Packers — he skipped the team’s OTAs this week— is an open question.
The course itself should also be a highlight of the match. Designed by Jack Nicklaus and measuring 8,000 yards, Moonlight Basin opened for play in 2016. The par-five 17th hole is 777 yards from the back tees, although at an elevation of 7,500 above sea level and with a fairway that slopes significantly downhill, it plays some shorter.
With majestic views of the surrounding mountains, two pro golfers who can hit bombs off the tee, and quarterbacks on their way to the Hall of Fame, The Match won’t lack for any drama or star power.