This past May, pro golfer Phil Mickelson took on former pro football player, and two-time Super Bowl winner, Payton Manning in a charity golf tournament. For that event, Mickelson partnered up with another NFL great, six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, while Manning connected with Tiger Woods. The competition, The Match: Champions for Charity, ultimately found Manning and Woods emerging victorious, but Mickelson now has a chance to exact a little revenge. He’s going to face off in yet another The Match: Champions for Charity event coming up today; however, oddsmakers aren’t convinced he can get the victory.
This next installment, which gets underway at 2 PM Eastern Time, finds Mickelson partnering with NBA legend and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and opposite them will be Manning and another NBA superstar, Steph Curry. The competition is described as a method of “[highlighting] diversity, equality, and inclusion through donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while raising awareness and spotlighting opportunities for diversity and equality in sports.”
Manning and Curry are getting odds of -175, while Mickelson and Barkley are facing +138 odds. Apparently, bookmakers don’t believe the format of the contest favors the underdogs, with players first teeing off before deciding which ball to play. From there, the team takes alternating shots until getting the ball in the cup. In addition, even though he has spent a lot of time on the links, Barkley is a self-proclaimed amateur aficionado, having once stated, “I don’t like talking about golf. Golf is not my favorite. The only thing good about golf is drinking and smoking.”
However, Manning, who has a 4.8 handicap, and Curry are both almost as good at golf as they are the sports that made them household names. Besides Manning’s win earlier this year, Curry shoots with a 2.1 handicap and regularly plays at the California Golf Club of San Francisco. According to the United States Golf Association, Barkley doesn’t record a handicap.
As if he needed to tweak his game, Curry wanted to make sure he was at his best – a competitive spirit he carries with him everywhere he goes. To help him out, he enlisted the services of pro golfer and U.S. Women’s Open winner Michelle Wie West who, at just ten years old, became the youngest player to qualify for an amateur championship with the U.S. Golf Association. Her knowledge and talent will certainly give Curry a boost.
As for Mickelson and Barkley, at least the tournament is for a worthy cause. Gamblers might not be able to count on the pair taking down the event, but they can still have some fun with some Barkley prop bets. Oddsmakers give him +400 odds for making a put of 30 feet or more and +2500 on hitting the pin from 100 yards or more. To make things really interesting, take +8000 on the hoops great to sink a hole-in-one.
