McIlroy, Thomas and Spieth join Woods for The Match

Toronto — Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will compete against fellow Major winners Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida in December for the seventh edition of The Match, Turner Sports said on Monday.

The 12-hole, made-for-TV exhibition on December 10 will be played under the lights and will be the latest event for Woods, whose schedule this year has been limited to three starts after a February 2021 car crash that nearly cost him his right leg.

This will be Woods’s third appearance in The Match after he lost to Phil Mickelson in the inaugural event in 2018 before getting some revenge in 2020 when he and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning beat Mickelson and current NFL great Tom Brady.

So far this year Woods has played in April at the Masters where he faded at the weekend and finished 47th, has withdrawn in pain from the PGA Championship after the third round in May and has missed the cut at the British Open in July.

For world No 1 McIlroy, No 8 Thomas and Spieth (13), this will mark their debut in the series, which this time will serve as a platform to benefit relief efforts for Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in October.

It will also be the second time the exhibition has been held this year after NFL quarterbacks Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen played at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas in June.

Reuters