Time for trash talk is over: What to expect from the Brady vs. Manning golf match-up
The cleaving for anything sports related has been a ginormous weight on the shoulders of sports fans everywhere during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Days have been filled with staring at TV screens that are airing old sitcoms instead of an afternoon baseball game. Instead of reading about the NBA draft, we’re eagerly setting our google alerts for even the slightest hint that basketball will resume in some fashion.
But come Sunday, we have Peyton Manning and Tom Brady facing off once again — but this time it will be on a golf course that will be shared with golf legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The match
The match-up, hosted by Champions of Charity, will take place on Sunday, May 24, at 3 p.m. ET at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. It will be broadcast on TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN.
Manning, a former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback, will be paired with Woods, a five-time Masters Tournament winner; Brady, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason after 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, will be with Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion.
On the line is $10 million, which was pledged from WarnerMedia and will go to benefit charities such as Direct Relief, American Red Cross, Save Small Business and the ALL in Challenge, according to CBS Sports.
The trash talk
Since the match was announced, it’s been almost all trash talk from both sides. While some are running their mouths off over Zoom meetings, others have been saving it all for the course.
Mickleson took to Twitter to share a very social-distancing friendly photo of he and Brady putting in some practice on the course.
He’s also been doing his due diligence when it comes to the smack talk on social media.
While Tiger hasn’t posted any photos of he and Manning putting in work, he has been counting down the days until the match-up.
The pro golfers might have the trash talk meter set to mild, but the NFL stars have been having a field day.
On Monday, Brady ethered Manning by saying that the latter is “worried about them pumping crowd noise in there if he starts making putts like they used to at the RCA Dome,” according to Yahoo Sports.
Manning fired back on Wednesday, however.
“Tom has told me on a couple of occasions he’s still mad about our last game together,” Manning said, as reported by Bleacher Report. “So if he’s comparing the golf match to the 2016 AFC Championship, I guess that’s his call. I don’t really see it the same way.”
Which team has the edge?
While the buildup has been happening for weeks, analysts have jumped in to express which teams has the advantage. According the ESPN, the edge is given to Manning/Woods, thanks to Peyton’s “scouting report.”
“He’s a big-play threat, a competitive, well-prepared player with laser-like focus in the pursuit of a win,” ESPN says. “Oh, and he’ll drop some well-placed smack on you. That’s Peyton Manning, the golfer.”
Friends, teammates and coaches of Manning even added their two cents to ESPN about his game mentality and how it’s going to come into play on Sunday.
“Probably everything he was in football he is in golf, but with more stories,” friend and former teammate Brandon Stokley said to ESPN. “Good stories, really good stories. But all of that focus you saw in football, I see that in his golf.”
Manning is a member of Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver and Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. According to the USGA’s Golf Handicap Information Network, he carries a 6.4 handicap index. (The average recreational player would “be at about a 16,” ESPN reports.)
“Peyton is going to be Steady Eddie, he’s going to be like, you know, he can shoot high 70s, but he’s probably more like a low-80s-type guy, and he’s cool with that,” said former teammate Wes Welker, who played for the Broncos and Patriots during his career and has spent time on the golf course with both quarterbacks, says ESPN. “[Manning] is never going to have a triple [bogey] … he’s going to be a par-bogey type of guy around the course.”
What Las Vegas thinks
With a majority of pro sports out of commission, gamblers are looking to this match-up to get their betting fix.
According to MyBookie.com, Woods/Manning have the edge at –215 with Mickelson/Brady at +175.
But all the fun lies in the prop bets, including:
Brady wearing at least one Super Bowl ring
Woods wearing a red shirt
What sort of headgear Mickelson will wear
Which Tampa Bay logo will be on Brady’s hat
Who will the first NFL player to have a football highlight shown
Will the word “deflate” be said by any player?
Will the word “Gronk” be said by any player?
Will the word “Omaha” be said by any player?
Will any player spike a golf ball during the broadcast?
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 3:02 PM.