It happens. The bet is on.
The CBS cameras and microphones caught the entire interaction between Tiger and Phil on the opening hole. There are no phones allowed on the golf course – and certainly no electronic scoreboards showing the telecast – so you’re not sure how word has spread so quickly, but within minutes of them making the bet, it’s all anybody is talking about in their gallery.
Here’s how you hear it went down, courtesy of a fellow spectator who says he’s friends with a guy who knows another guy who was pressed right up against the ropes and witnessed the entire thing:
Phil: “So, you wanna do this thing?”
Tiger: “You name it. I’m in.”
Phil: “My check against yours. Winner take all. Low score today.”
Tiger: “Cool.”
Phil [smiling]: “Press when pissed?”
Tiger: “I’m pissed already. Stop talking and let’s play.”
And there it is: Even if the story has been altered a bit in this game of whisper-down-the-lane, it’s been confirmed that Phil and Tiger are indeed having “The Match II,” only it’s during the final round of a major, with the two of them on top of the leaderboard and they’re putting up their own money.
Giddy. Up.
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You were already bursting at the seams when you arrived in Augusta yesterday evening and heard the confirmation that these two players would indeed be paired together. You and everyone else, of course. The entire city was buzzing for those 20 hours between the conclusion of the third round and the last tee time of the final round. When you went to dinner last night, the group to the right of you was talking excitedly about it and the group to the left of you was talking excitedly about it – independent of each other.
Tiger and Phil each hit their opening tee shots and it’s game on. All business. Minutes earlier, they were shaking hands and making bets and smiling. Now they’re each in final-round major mode. And with something extra at stake, this one will mean even more.
They’re not just playing for a green jacket. They’re playing for bragging rights.
