Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson are set to hit the links again together. Fittingly, their opponents for “The Match” are two super-talents with just one major championship apiece.
All parties involved Wednesday announced the July 6 return of “The Match,” a four-person golf showdown featuring Brady and Mickelson vs. Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau. The made-for-TV spectacle will take place at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky.
Brady wasted no time starting the trash talk, taking a playful shot at Rodgers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Brady beat Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game in January, in part because the Pack opted to kick a late field goal instead of going for a touchdown.
If you’re keeping score at home, that’s the second time in the offseason Rodgers has been tweaked about the Packers’ decision to kick that field goal. A contestant on “Jeopardy!” made a reference to the decision when Rodgers was the celebrity host earlier this spring. On the bright side for Rodgers, no one is talking about how he and the offense failed to capitalize on Brady’s uncharacteristic sloppy play in the second half of that game.
This also figures to be the continuation of the Summer of Rodgers. For now, he’s still with the Packers, but he’s now on the record regarding his frustrations with the organization. According to reports, he wants out of Green Bay. Packers OTAs opened this week with Rodgers hanging out in Hawaii. Training camps begin in late July.
Brady and Mickelson teamed up for “The Match” last May and lost to Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in that charity event. The timing for this one couldn’t be any better from a golf standpoint. Mickelson just won his sixth major, capturing the PGA Championship (and Brady’s attention) at Kiawah Island this past weekend. DeChambeau, meanwhile, remains a lightning rod for golf controversy, as evidenced by the reaction to a viral video involving Brooks Koepka this week.
