TNT is going big with the 10th installment of The Match.
TNT is going big with the 10th installment of The Match.
This time around, it’ll be a two-night event in prime time with no pro golfers but eight big-time celebrities as well as a star-studded announcing crew.
Dubbed “The Match: Superstars,” the competition will be televised on Thursday, Nov. 21, and Friday, Nov. 22, with coverage simulcast on TNT and Max. The event was filmed at The Breakers Rees Jones Golf Course at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Check out the celebrity lineup: Bill Murray, Mark Wahlberg, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Nate Bargatze, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Blake Griffin.
The initial matches will pit Murray and Gretzky against Barkley and Griffey as well as Wahlberg and Phelps vs. Bargatze and Griffin.
There will then be semifinals and a final match. Those will be individual match play contests with the eventual winner banking $1 million.
Thursday Nov. 21
Wahlberg/Phelps vs. Bargatze/Griffin, 7:30 p.m.
Barkley/Griffey Jr. vs. Gretzky/Murray, 9 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22
Semifinals, 7:30 p.m.
Final match, 9 p.m.
Calling the action is TNT’s Ernie Johnson, back at the Match for a fifth time. He’s joined by Charles Barkley, who will be making his ninth appearance at The Match as either a player or commentator. Also, a pair of Masters champs – Trevor Immelman and Bubba Watson – will provide analysis. Kathryn Tappen returns as the on-course reporter.
In September, Golfweek reported on a Match featuring Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler against Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. That PGA Tour vs. LIV event is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.
Mark Wahlberg gave Drake Maye the perfect New England welcome.
Boston native Mark Wahlberg welcomed New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye to town in the best way possible.
Maye was part of a Fanatics video where this year’s rookie class was welcomed to the league by celebrity fans of their teams. Wahlberg welcomed “Drizzy Drake” Maye, who is looking to bring stability to the Patriots’ quarterback room.
Veteran Jacoby Brissett is expected to be the starter in New England, but Maye is steadily working and improving in training camp. Maye’s time will come, but in the meantime, Wahlberg had some solid advice for the rookie.
“You need anything, call me. Anybody [expletive] with you — bleep that out — call me,” Wahlberg said to Maye.
We couldn't think of a better way to introduce these young stars to their new cities. Welcome home, 2024 @NFL Rookies. pic.twitter.com/7HuiUfv6aN
Maye will have to prove he can produce on the field. For now, the hype continues to build as New England continues their search for stability in the post-Tom Brady era.
Well, Mark Wahlberg sure looked excited to be on the ManningCast.
Mark Wahlberg joined Peyton and Eli Manning on Monday night’s latest edition of the ManningCast, but he sure didn’t look like he wanted to be there.
During his appearance, NFL fans noticed that Wahlberg looked like he’d rather be at the grocery store or watching paint dry than talk about the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Game with the Manning brothers.
It’s not that Wahlberg was rude or not game to answer questions; he was perfectly professional while answering whatever questions the Mannings had. However, most of the interview, he just looked bored and ready to go do something else.
Well, we get it’s late and that he’s not able to talk about his beloved New England Patriots playing in primetime. However, you’d think you’d at least be a little excited to join the Mannings for like 15 minutes of broadcast time?
NFL fans wondered what was going on with Wahlberg on the broadcast.
“I just kind of threw it out there, but yeah, if it’s a possibility I think he would trust me to do him justice.”
Bill Belichick is one of the most unique figures in the NFL.
He’s arguably the greatest coach in league history and he’s also someone who rarely puts his personality on display. Belichick is the coach who won’t even let the Madden video game use his likeness, leaving just a generic face on the New England Patriots’ sideline.
The 69-year-old is all business, but that makes the masses wonder about his personality away from the cameras. Many players, coaches and celebrities have very different takeaways from moments with Belichick.
Mark Wahlberg has been around Belichick over the years and he believes he would be the best person to act as the head coach in a biopic.
“It all started when somebody was like who would you see yourself playing: Tom Brady or Bill Belichick?” Wahlberg said on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. “I think I look a little more like Bill Belichick, let’s just be real, which is fine. I love Bill and I also know Bill, so to be able to hear Bill be on the podium where he says next to nothing and really hear him — I just kind of threw it out there, but yeah, if it’s a possibility I think he would trust me to do him justice.”
Brady has documentaries, social media and many other mediums to put his personality on display. Wahlberg could be the one who shows a different side of Belichick at some point in the future.
He repeatedly stepped up and held off playing partner, World No. 1 Jon Rahm, in the final two rounds.
In his previous 504 rounds on the PGA Tour, Smith had posted four rounds of 8 under or better; in the Sentry, his rounds 65-64-64-65 all were 8 under or better.
He made 31 birdies, three eagles, and just three bogeys – none on his last 52 holes.
He joined Bryson DeChambeau (2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic) as the only two winners to rank first in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Putting since 2004.
And he became the sixth player to complete the Hawaii double, winning both the Sentry Tournament of Champions (2022) and the Sony Open in Hawaii (2020).
“Golf game felt really good obviously coming down the stretch there with one of the best golfers in the world. To match up with him was something I’ll never forget,” Smith said Wednesday at Waialae Country Club.
Felt really good? The scoring was so alarming last week that Webb Simpson, in his Charlotte home, had to interrupt his morning routine to make sure what he was seeing was right.
“I’m checking the scores, haven’t had my coffee, I’m half-asleep, I kind of did this with my eyes because I see 11 and 12 and then my coffee process stopped because I had to see all these score cards,” Simpson said. “It was crazy.
“It was talked about a lot, but I feel like only those in the golf world really know how good that was. You (golf media) know, players know, caddies know, but I think the typical golf fan, it’s probably hard for them to conceive how good 34-under is. It’s amazing.”
And now, as he’s his own tough act to follow, Smith will try to join Ernie Els (2003) and Justin Thomas (2017) as the only players to win the Hawaii double in the same year. But don’t expect the pressure to get to Smith, or that he’ll go changing his ways now that he’s cracked the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time (he’s 10th), or because he has five PGA Tour titles at age 28.
“I’ve always kind of grown up with the mentality, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. If everything is all working, just do what you need to do, get comfortable and go do something else and relax and get your mind and body right for Thursday,” he said. “I’ve never really wanted to expect anything of myself. I’ve always been a process kind of guy. I feel like if I tick all the boxes I’m going to play some good golf. For sure I definitely want to play well but I never really expect too much of myself.”
His week in Honolulu has gotten off to a great start. After taking Monday off to rest, he did some light work at the course on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, he played the pro-am with motion picture star, Mark Walhberg.
Mark Wahlberg (L) and Cameron Smith (R) of Australia fist bump on the 11th hole during the Pro-Am Tournament prior to the start of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 12, 2022 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
“Mark was a really good lad,” Smith said. “We had some laughs. One of my best pro-am experiences I think ever. It was really good fun.”
Come Thursday, however, it’s a new week and a new tournament. And this week will be drastically different. The Plantation Course at Kapalua that Smith torched was built into the side of the mountain and features immense fairways and greens. As well, soft breezes throughout the week barely moved the pin flags.
This week presents a harder challenge from tee to green.
“It’s one of the hardest weeks on Tour to hit the fairways, especially with how firm they get over the weekend,” Smith said. “It feels good to be confident with the driver. There’s a lot of 3-woods and iron shots as well; it’s a tricky little place, this one, but I love it.”
So don’t expect a major letdown from Smith. He’s always been well centered and rarely gets ahead of himself. He’ll take this week in a manner worthy of the golf cliché – one hole at a time.
“Just really looking forward to this week,” he said. “I’m ready to get back into it.”
Dillon, the father of celebrated actors Matt and Kevin, became one of the most recognizable faces on the Metropolitan area golf scene during the last 30 years.
Paul Dillon, a past president of the Metropolitan Golf Association and former men’s golf coach at Fordham University, died on July 20. He was 86.
Dillon, father to actors Matt and Kevin among his six children, came to golf late in life before becoming an advocate of the game as a leader, coach and artist. His service on behalf of the MGA and Westchester Golf Association made him one of the most recognizable faces in New York-New Jersey-Connecticut golf during the last 30 years.
Dillon grew up in New Rochelle, New York, and like many golfers, his first exposure to the game was as a caddie. In spite of this, and a lifelong love of all sports, he didn’t play his first round of golf until the age of 23. After attending Iona College, Dillon began a 30-year career with the Union Camp Corporation, a company that is now part of International Paper and put golf on hold while he and his wife of nearly 60 years, Mary Ellen, raised their six children in Mamaroneck, New York. (He was just as proud of one of his daughters, a teacher, as his more celebrated sons.)
At age 45, he rediscovered golf and became a member at Wykagyl Country Club and then, in 1987, joined Winged Foot Golf Club. His love of family, golf and Winged Foot all converged into the following Forecaddie report in a September 2009 issue of Golfweek:
The Man Out Front loves it when the HBO hit show Entourage hits the links. It’s only fitting since a round of golf played a big part in Kevin Dillon landing his scene-stealing role as Vince’s older brother, Johnny Drama.
Most of the credit goes to the actor’s father, Paul Dillon, who hosted Mark Wahlberg at Winged Foot CC in 2003.
“He had a small entourage of his own,” the elder Dillon recalled, noting one of Marky Mark’s “Funky Bunch” spent the entire day taking pictures (Hey Wang, it’s just a parking lot).
“In chatting with [Wahlberg],” Dillon recounted, “I said, ‘My son Kevin lives part-time in California, you guys should tee it up.’ ”
A few holes later, Wahlberg conceded he had never met Paul’s son, but he thought he might be a perfect fit for this new project, Entourage, he had in the works. After all, Kevin has lived the part of Vinny Chase’s older brother in real life. Kevin’s been overshadowed most of his career by his movie star younger brother, Matt (TMOF has been a huge fan since “The Flamingo Kid”).
“‘Well then you definitely have to tee it up,’ ” Paul replied. “They played golf, made a pilot, sold it to HBO, and now it’s a hit.”
That’s a story that makes The Man Out Front raise his arms above his head and scream Drama’s signature line, “Victory!”
Former Fordham men’s golf coach and MGA president Paul Dillon (center) surrounded by recipients of the MGA’s Golfworks program. (Courtesy MGA)
Dillon began volunteering his time with the MGA and WGA in the early 1990s. He served as WGA president from 1994-‘95 and later as president of their highly successful Caddie Scholarship Fund.
He became head coach of Fordham University’s men’s golf team in 1995 and turned the Rams program into an Atlantic 10 Conference contender, winning, among other titles, the 2009 ECAC Championship, during his 22-year tenure. Voted 2004 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Dillon took pride in helping his players improve as golfers, but more importantly, developing them into responsible and respected adults.
Dillon also served golf with his paintbrush, becoming the Met Area’s most prolific and celebrated golf artist. He painted, and donated, hundreds of portraits of the game’s great players, many of which hang prominently in clubhouses across the country and abroad. Each year, he created portraits of MGA and Metropolitan Golf Writers Association award recipients, a tradition for more than 20 years, and painted each of his graduating Fordham golf team seniors. A selection of his portraits is proudly displayed in the “Dillon Gallery” at the MGA’s Golf Central headquarters.
His dedication to spreading the game’s values and traditions along with his relentless service to the MGA and WGA made him one of the most beloved members of his local golf community and culminated in him receiving the MGA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2010.
“During the course of your life you may meet a handful of people that you love and that also inspire you,” said former MGA president Al Small. “Paul—the artist, coach, leader and friend—is that person to me!”
