There have been eight iterations of The Match since Tiger vs. Phil in 2018, and since then the exhibition-style event has been tweaked and supplemented in a number of ways.
Superstar NFL quarterbacks have been thrown into the mix and the Charles Barkley's voice has become central to the franchise’s entertainment factor. The format has ranged from straight-up match play to 12-hole team best ball. In its seventh installment, The Match even secured a primetime TV slot with the help of on-course stadium lights.
Those evolutions have undoubtedly made for an intriguing and dynamic TV product, but for six years The Match failed to make one simple addition that should have been a no-brainer from the start. This year, that’s finally changing.
For the first time in the franchise’s history, LPGA players are included. At 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 26, Rory McIlroy and Max Homa will tee it up alongside Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang in a 12-hole skins match, hosted at The Park in West Palm Beach.
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Playing “under the lights” again, the four will compete from two sets of tees—equivalent to standard PGA Tour and LPGA yardages—except on the course’s four par-3s. On Nos. 3, 5, 8 and 11, the four pros will all play from the same distance.
The format is new, the course is open to the public and Thompson and Zhang will have the unique chance to showcase their personalities on a national stage like they never have before. Plus, Thompson and Zhang are two of the LPGA’s brightest stars. Thompson is a major champion and made headlines by nearly making a cut on the PGA Tour last fall. And Zhang, who is just 20 years old and still enrolled at Stanford University, stunned golf fans when she won her LPGA debut at Liberty National.
McIlroy, for one, is thrilled about The Match’s new look, and on a Zoom call with the media Thursday, he explained why he decided to jump on the opportunity. McIlroy made his Match debut in 2022 alongside Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth and the four-time major champion was candid in saying that Monday’s iteration with Thompson, Homa and Zhang will be far more influential.
“I had a great time at The Match with Tiger, JT and Jordan, whenever that was a year and a bit ago, but I would like to think this match will hopefully be more impactful for the game of golf going forward than that one,” McIlroy said.
The Northern Irishman didn’t participate in the new PGA Tour/LPGA mixed-team event in December, the Grant Thornton Invitational, but he was present for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, when the men and the women played the revered course in back-to-back weeks. The unique USGA concept will return in 2029, and it seems as though McIlroy would be an advocate for more joint stages for the men and the women going forward.
“I think it’s just about the platform, right?” McIlroy said. “If we can give the women a great platform to showcase their skills, whether it be the Grant Thornton Invitational or whether it be matches like this, whether it be combined U.S. Opens like we did at Pinehurst. It can only be good for the game of golf as a whole.
“I think other sports have found it easier to integrate both men and women into the same venues. For example, tennis in the grand slams. I think both the men and the women have benefited from having those combined venues and combined tournaments. I don’t know if golf can get all the way there with logistics and you might need two courses and all this sort of stuff, but if it can get closer to that, at least we’re on a journey of trying to produce more events where the men and the women come together a little more often. I think it’s great for everyone.”
Homa, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, agreed with McIlroy’s sentiments about increasing visibility on the women’s side of the game. But the California native is also simply excited to see Thompson’s and Zhang’s swings up close.
Homa played college golf with Thompson’s brother, Curtis, at Cal Berkeley and recalled watching her bomb her driver on the range after a practice session one afternoon. He enjoyed watching Zhang in No Laying Up’s YouTube documentary on the Stanford women’s golf team, but has only seen her compete on TV.
“That’s what I’m looking forward to in this match. I want to see it in person. I want to feel my inadequacy with golf games,” Homa said.
