Came for the novelty, stayed for the drama

About the only rounds of television golf I watch are the final rounds of the four majors. But with the shelter-in-place order, I had nothing better to do. Normally, I would just have the match on for background noise as I putter about the house.

But Sunday, I was engrossed. They broke up the pairs perfectly — Manning and Mickelson provided the comic relief missing from the Tiger-Phil pay-per-view “special” they played in 2018.

Manning and Mickelson are commentary stars-in-the-making if they ever decide to move into the broadcast booth. Manning is one of those guys who can slide trash talk into a conversation and move on before the recipient even knows he’s being slighted. Despite his “aw shucks” demeanor, Manning has a biting tongue.

Mickelson is a man of many words, taking nearly a minute to describe a delicate little pitch shot just off the green, breaking down how he would hit the shot and then doing precisely what he said he would do.

In addition to the banter, there was really good golf. Apparently, the course played — at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida (about two hours north of Miami) — is Tiger’s home course and he certainly played like he was intimately familiar with each hole. He looked healthy and confident and his swing looked dialed in. And then there was Mickelson, another generational player, who drove the green on the 330-yard par-4 11th hole and was his usual masterful self with his wedges around the green.

But I was really surprised with Manning’s play. He was nails on the front nine, winning a pair of holes during the match play portion of the event (the front nine was match play, the back nine was alternate shot) as he and Tiger built up a three-hole lead after the opening nine holes.

Meanwhile, Brady looked like a hack for the first couple hours of play — save for a spectacular eagle from 150 yards out on the par-4 seventh. The hole-out seemed to turn around Brady’s round, which left much to be desired after the first six holes.

But as Manning faded a bit on the back nine, Brady was raising the level of his game as he and Mickelson put the pressure on over back nine.

To cap it all off was the commentary from TNT NBA commentator Charles Barkley in the studio and PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas walking/driving with the foursome on the course. Neither held back in their trash talking, either.

Down three holes at the turn, Mickelson and Brady got back to 1-down with two holes to play. While Tiger and Manning ultimately held them off, there was enough drama to keep me glued to the TV.

As well as six million more pairs of eyes. That’s how many people tuned in to watch the event — the most ever to watch a round of golf on a cable channel (”The Match” was broadcast on TNT). While some may have tuned in for the novelty of the event, many stayed because of the play and drama. No doubt the best round of golf this year.

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When it comes to the NHL, it a distant fourth behind the “Big Three” of football, basketball and baseball.

So of course it was the NHL that has in place how it will proceed to end its 2019-20 season. Meanwhile, basketball is still putting its plan together, while baseball appears destined for no season. The NFL is the lucky one in all of this, as its season is still on schedule to start — but that remains to be seen, long term.

The NHL’s plan isn’t perfect. One, there is no guarantee that the hockey season does restart and two, it will go straight into Stanley Cup playoff mode. But at least the NHL has a plan in place, which puts it way ahead of the NBA and MLB.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.