TAMPA, Fla. ― Under normal circumstances, it could be considered an old-timer’s game.
Tom Brady, the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl at 43, will team up again with Phil Mickelson, the oldest golfer to win a major tournament at 50, in "The Match" against Packers MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau.
The charity event will be held July 6 at the Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus. "The Match" will be televised by Turner Network with live coverage beginning at 5 p.m., and donations will benefit Feeding America.
Mickelson is coming off an improbable win at the PGA Championship on Sunday, May 23, at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in South Carolina. Brady began rooting for Mickelson on Sunday when he chipped in from the bunker on the par-3 fifth hole.
Mickelson responded by tweeting: “We have some unfinished business. Let’s get another match and find a pair to give a beat down.”
ADVERTISEMENT
A year ago, Brady and Mickelson lost to Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning 1-up at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound. The event raised millions for COVID-19 relief.
Since that match, Brady went on to win Super Bowl 55 over the Kansas City Chiefs and Mickelson made history by winning the PGA major.
It’s a reunion of sorts, meanwhile, between Brady and Rodgers, after the Bucs beat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
Brady wasted no time needling Rodgers about that defeat, in which the Packers opted for a field goal on fourth-and-goal while trailing by a touchdown.
Brady continued the attack on Rodgers and his partner, using a meme of Brooks Koepka’s eye roll during an interview in the PGA Championship when DeChambeau walked by.
On Instagram, Brady billed The Match as “two champions vs. a scientist and jeopardy host.”
Since the championship game, Rodgers has indicated he wants to leave Green Bay and broke his silence on the issue Tuesday on ESPN.
“I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization,” Rodgers told ESPN’s Kenny Mayne. “And, you know, history is important, legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. The people make an organization. People make a business and sometimes that gets forgotten. ...
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play a number of amazing, amazing people and got to work for some amazing people as well. It’s those people that build the foundation of those entities. I think sometimes we forget that, you know?”
The Bucs, meanwhile, made sure all 22 starters are returning from the Super Bowl 55 team.
Brady even saved a little ribbing for DeChambeau, who has become a controversial figure in golf after trying to murder every shot with maximum swing effort. He eventually chimed in, tweeting that he “can’t wait to unleash the beast in Big Sky.”
This offseason, Brady has stayed away from the Bucs’ training facility and has instead held passing sessions with teammates at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex.
Maybe he will use some of his time off to work on his golf game.
©2021 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
