The much-anticipated Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson showdown could be a lot bigger and more fun than most people realize
- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were supposed to compete in a winner-takes-all competition July 3rd which fell through, but it has been reported something between the two could still be in the works.
- One golf expert for The Ringer feels confident any such contest would be pay-per-view.
- There is speculation that it could even be a series of competitions, with Phil and Tiger competing against each other and also competing against a pair of up-and-coming golf stars like Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.
In the most recent edition of the ShackHouse podcast, hosts Joe House and golf insider Geoff Shackelford discussed the report of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson planning a winner-takes-all competition which fell through, and what such a contest could look like if the two sides do get back to arranging one. And some of the ideas they tossed could make quite the exciting spectacle for golf fans.
"See I think it'd be more fun if there was a match play component where maybe they could press," Shackelford said. "Or if they were somehow putting their own money and it were somehow being matched or doubled."
However, Shackelford also said that even if this competition were just straight-forward challenge matches, it would make for entertaining television, especially since a competition would likely be held in the nighttime.
"Television can do so much more, production wise, to make it something special, when they're just dealing with a few players."
Shackelford also sounded confident that any event between Phil and Tiger would end up on pay-per-view.
"See I think the more compelling concept is something where you see Apple, or Netflix, or Amazon, create a series around these two where, it's not just one thing, maybe it kicks off with one big live event . . . What if it's a package? You pay a hundred dollars, and you get this pay-per-view package for whatever it is, a six-series thing, maybe they play each other twice, and then they play two or three or four other challenge matches. That seems to me the only model that works on the pay-per-view concept."
Shackelford did stress that he was not operating on any inside knowledge, although he stated that he was "very confident" in any event being pay-per-view.
House, for his part, liked the idea of a series of competitions and proposed that at some point Phil and Tiger take on a team of Jordan Spieth and golf villain Patrick Reed.
"Because Reed is out of his mind . . . I love this concept of them wearing mics. Patrick Reed with a mic in a competition where he thinks he's the best guy out of the foursome. That I'm gonna [pay for]."