Tiger Woods Wants Mickelson $9M Match Encore, Talks About Ryder Cup Struggles

Tiger Woods wants another shot at Phil Mickelson after losing the winner-take-all $9 million match against his long-term rival at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas on the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to Page Six’s Richard Johnson, an insider revealed that the 14-time major winner was under the weather during the outing after picking up a cold from his children during Thanksgiving.

"The Match" as it was dubbed went into sudden-death playoffs and Mickelson won on the fourth hole after Woods bogeyed and true to his word, the five-time major winner rubbed the loss in his opponent’s face. The former world number one credited Mickelson for the win, however, he wants another chance as he was not fully fit going into the exhibition event.

“I will not ever let you live this one down. I will bring it up every time I see you,” Mickelson said after his win, as quoted on Page Six.

“Tiger doesn’t take anything away from Phil, but he was under the weather,” Page Six quoted a source as saying. “He ground it out and nearly won. And he wants a second chance.”

The match at Shadow Creek was a pay-per-view event and it was available on Turner Sports and other platforms for $19.95. It was a hit in terms of numbers with the report claiming that over 1 million people subscribed to the clash between Woods and Mickelson.

However, the show also ended up being available for live streaming without any cost, which forced all the platforms to refund viewers who had paid for the pay-per-view event. Despite that, it is claimed the show was a hit and that the sponsors involved were happy.

"It was a hit in terms of how many people bought it, and how they watched it from beginning to end,” the source added. “The execs were very pleased, and the sponsors [including Capital One, AT&T, Audi and Wheels Up] were happy — because of the screw-up they reached more people.”

The producers are said to be already planning another event owing to the success of the match between Woods and Mickelson and are considering adding two more golfers to make it a four-man event.

Meanwhile, Woods will be back in action Thursday when tees off at the Hero World Challenge – a tournament hosted by the American 14-time major winner. It involves a few top ranked golf professionals playing for the benefit of the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Speaking ahead of the event which begins in the Bahamas, the American admitted he was too tired at the end of last season, which was the reason for his calamitous performance at the 2018 Ryder Cup.

The United States team were thoroughly routed by Team Europe with Woods losing all his four matches. It was a surprise considering he had arrived at the tournament after capturing the Tour Championship title – his first in five years and his 80th overall on the PGA Tour.

"I was not physically prepared to play that much golf at the end of the year," Woods told reporters, as quoted on CNN. "It's never been this hot at every single tournament, it was just stifling. It was hard for me to maintain my strength and my weight through all of that.”

"I was exhausted by the time I got to the Ryder Cup. I was worn out mentally, physically, emotionally,” he added.