Tiger vs. Phil Prediction
Who will come away with the big victory in The Match, a 1-on-1 golf battle between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson this afternoon? Here’s our take on the winner.
According to the latest oddsmakers, Tiger Woods is favored to win this match-play event, as he is listed with odds of -175 to prevail while Phil Mickelson has a money line of +155 to win. Tiger vs. Phil, The Match will be held on Friday, Nov. 23 at 3PM ET from Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air live on PPV. The two are playing for a $9 million purse.
Tiger Woods comes into today’s event sitting 13th in the world rankings. Woods has looked more true to his prime form in 2018 after spending a number of years dealing with injuries. This year, Woods picked up his first victory since 2013 and strongly contended for his first major since 2008. Woods climbed from 656th in the world rankings to 13th in the calendar year.
Phil Mickelson comes into today’s match 27th in the world rankings. Like Woods, he earned his first victory in five years this season. Mickelson has been steadily ranked around 10-40 for years, but hasn’t really gotten himself on a hot streak in some time. Mickelson didn’t finish the year that strong, as he fell from 19th to 27th over the last half of 2018.
Both men have reasonable records in Ryder Cup singles matches, but Mickelson hasn’t performed terribly well in the Match Play Championships, while Woods is a three-time winner of the event. This match comes down to focus to me and Woods isn’t going to want to lose this match to Phil. Mickelson is in a bit of a no-lose situation, because his career accomplishments pale compare to Tiger’s. Woods has always been known for his drive and focus on the course and I think that will be the difference today. Mickelson isn’t someone that tends to really get into a zone like Tiger. Given the hype and attention behind this match, I see Woods taking this very seriously. Tiger at his best, even in 2018, is still better than Phil at his best.
The Match Prediction: Tiger Woods -175
