Tiger/Phil match with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning would be worth watching

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are reportedly open to recreating The Match, this time pairing up with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning

The Match, Part II, is reportedly close to becoming a reality, only this time with a twist.

Joining Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in this made-for-TV event will be two legends and future Hall of Famers from a different sport, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The match, according to sources, will take place at a Florida golf course, without any fans, and with the players obeying CDC guidelines to stay at least six feet apart (so no awkward high-fives).

Both quarterbacks are solid golfers who have played in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in the past, with Manning finishing in a tie for ninth this year. But the star attraction for golf fans would, once again, be Tiger and Phil.

Their first head-to-head encounter, back on Thanksgiving weekend in 2018, failed to live up to expectations. With both players miked up, it promised to be an engaging few hours with two golfing greats. Instead, what started as awkward conversations turned to dead silence by the end. Neither player played particularly well. And the pay-per-view broadcast experienced technical problems, forcing organizers to offer it for free. It turned out to be just two rich guys competing to see who would be richer, with Mickelson walking away with $9 million.

Such a spectacle would be tone-deaf in the current environment, which makes this version all the more compelling. It would be on free TV, with advertising money going to support COVID-19 relief efforts. It would also provide a reprieve for sports-starved fans tired of watching decades-old events. The addition of Manning and Brady adds another layer of complexity: who will they partner up with? Will either manage to actually beat one of the professionals on a hole?

Woods and Brady would seem like ideal partners, two cerebral legends in the conversation as the greatest to ever play their sport. Mickelson and Manning, meanwhile, are quite alike as well, two gregarious, media-friendly greats in their own right who often got lost in the shadow of their rival.

Whether it’s going to happen is still an open question. Woods hasn’t commented, but Mickelson wrote on Twitter he’s working to make the match happen. A source close to the players told Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger on Wednesday that all parties involved are deep in negotiations to ensure it takes place.

When it will happen is another unresolved issue. Competitive sports, whether the PGA Tour, MLB, NBA, and NHL, don’t appear to be coming back anytime soon. Such an event closed off to the public and with only essential personnel on-site, is the best fans can hope for.

In this uncertain time, it might be essential, a feel-good moment when there are far too few of them. It would certainly be must-see-TV.