The Match has become an anticipated event on most golf fans’ calendars, and for its 10th edition the tournament is going to be bigger than ever. Dubbed The Match: Superstars, this latest iteration (the second in 2024) is going to feature eight avid amateur golfers from the celebrity and sports ranks competing in a two-night event.
What originally started as a one-vs-one match play event between iconic golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson has grown to this anticipated event that brings together a wide range of participants for some entertaining golf in a more laid back environment (the ribbing between the players is always a highlight), as well as raising millions for charity. To date The Match has raised $41 million for various organizations and donated 27 million meals to Feeding America. This year, money is being raised for hurricane relief.
When is The Match and who is playing in it? Read on to get everything you need to know about the event.
The Match: Superstars date
After the first round of matches aired on November 21, the semifinals and finals of The Match: Superstars will be shown on TNT at 7:30 pm on Friday, November 22.
How to watch The Match: Superstars
Anyone who wants to watch The Match: Superstars live is going to have both a traditional TV option and a streaming option available to them.
First, TNT is handling the TV coverage of the event. The cable channel is available through traditional pay-TV providers and live TV streaming services like Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
If you’ve cut the cord on live TV channels, you can stream The Match: Superstars live on Max. It is not specified whether or not The Match: Superstars stream on Max will be its own special stream or if it falls under the B/R Sports add-on for the streamer. However, Max’s promotional offer of the B/R Sports add-on channel, where anyone who subscribes can access it for free, is still available, so really it’s a moot point.
There will be additional coverage on social and digital extensions via Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.
The Match: Superstars golfers
While there are no professional golfers competing in this version of The Match, some massive names are set to comprise the largest field ever for The Match. Here are the golfers for The Match: Superstars:
- Nate Bargatze, comedian
- Charles Barkley, NBA hall of famer, current TNT basketball analyst
- Wayne Gretzky, NHL hall of famer, current TNT hockey analyst
- Ken Griffey Jr., MLB hall of famer
- Blake Griffin, former NBA all-star
- Bill Murray, Oscar-nominated actor
- Michael Phelps, 28-time Olympic medalist
- Mark Wahlberg, Oscar-nominated actor
Of this group, Barkley is the only one to have previously participated in The Match, winning when paired with Phil Mickelson against Peyton Manning and Steph Curry.
The Match: Superstars format
With the expanded field, the format for The Match: Superstars is a little different than in past years, as it combines two vs two scramble matches (each player hits a shot, and the team picks the best ball to continue playing) and individual match play.
The competition began with the two vs two matches on November 21. Here are the pairings and winners (in bold):
- Michael Phelps/Mark Wahlberg vs Nate Bargatze/Blake Griffin
- Wayne Gretzky/Bill Murray vs Charles Barkley/Ken Griffey Jr.,
For the semifinals on Friday, November 22, the former teammates will face off, so its:
- Michael Phelps vs Mark Wahlberg
- Wayne Gretzky vs Bill Murray
The winners of those semifinal matches will then face each other in the finals.
The Match: Superstars commentators
Helping bring The Match: Superstars to fans is the commentating team for the event, led by Emmy-winner Ernie Johnson as the host, his fifth time calling The Match. He will be joined by Trevor Immelman, CBS golf analyst who still stay in that role for his eighth appearance on The Match; two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson as an on-course correspondent for the first time; and Kathryn Tappen working as a course reporter at The Match for a fourth time.
In addition to playing, Barkley will also be serving as an analyst for the broadcast, likely taking part in the booth when he is not competing (though I’m sure he, and all the golfers, will be mic’d up and chiming in throughout their time on the course).
The Match: Superstars golf course
This iteration of The Match is going to take place at The Breakers Rees Jones Course at The Breakers Rees Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. The course is a par 72.
The Match winners
Here is the full list of past winners of The Match.
- Match 1: Tiger vs Phil — Phil Mickelson
- Match 2: Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning vs Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady — Woods/Manning
- Match 3: Phil Mickleson/Charles Barkley vs Steph Curry/Peyton Manning — Mickelson/Barkley
- Match 4: Bryson DeChambeau/Aaron Rodgers vs Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady — DeChambeau/Rodgers
- Match 5: Bryson DeChanbeau vs Brooks Koepka — Bryson DeChambeau
- Match 6: Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers vs Josh Allen/Patrick Mathomes — Brady/Rodgers
- Match 7: Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas vs Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy — Spieth/Thomas
- Match 8: Steph Curry/Klay Thompson vs Patrick Mahomes/Travis Kelce — Mahome/Kelce
- Match 9: Max Homa vs Rory McIlroy vs Lexi Thompson vs Rose Zheng — McIlroy
