Gary Sheffield, Jr
Videos by OutKick
It seems Sir Charles fixed his golf swing. No hitch or anything. His revamped golf swing paid major dividends as he and Phil Mickelson took down Steph Curry and Peyton Manning in The Match III.
The tournament raised $4.4 million in total, so bravo all around.
Charles Barkley and Phil Mickelson beat out Steph Curry and Peyton Manning in The Match: Champions for Change ⛳️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2020
The event will make $4.4M in donations to HBCUs and orgs that support them. pic.twitter.com/gSwfk9GEI0
Charles was sharp on the greens all day, even as his TNT colleagues hazed him through his ear piece. Equally surprising that Steph Curry wasn’t his usual self in any phase of the game. The two-time MVP is well known to somehow be a semi-pro golfer in his spare time. Not today. Steph couldn’t hit a fairway to save his life and the Mickelson/Barkley reaped the benefits for the title. Can’t call Barkley a loser anymore.
The Match III took place at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Arizona. A course Mickelson owns, so he had a leg up from the jump.
Celebrity Twitter had a good time with this one.
The most surprising turn of events in 2020 is that Charles Barkley’s golf swing looks good
— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) November 27, 2020
Charles Barkley has hit two consecutive fairways. This can only mean one thing.. #TheMatch pic.twitter.com/u6N2GTb1To
— trey wingo (@wingoz) November 27, 2020
Charles Barkley picking up the tee with his drive still in the air. Absolute sauce from Sir Charles on No. 1. #TheMatch pic.twitter.com/mSypNgzDL9
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) November 27, 2020
Fair to say these two v. two celebrity golf matches are a hit. Credit to whoever thought of it and congratulations to Charles and Phil.
We found one of the 10 people who watched this. During this i got new tires, groceries and a massage.
Since this is Outkick and not ESPN, let’s peek under the rug and take a look at this “tournament”.
The PR (per the event website):
“Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change is a premier golf event featuring a World Golf Hall of Famer and crossover legends – Phil Mickelson, Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning. It will contribute toward and will highlight 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.”
Sounds like typical social-justice, race-hustle speak. No specifics. just the usual woke keywords to warm the heart of every white liberal.
The last line is especially confusing (“raising awareness and spotlighting opportunities for diversity and equality in sports”). The NBA is 80% black and the NFL is 70% black. Are they talking about the dearth of black players in baseball, which unfortunately black kids have little interest in? Soccer? Hockey? Since HBCU’s were mentioned, is this to help HBCU’s fund golf or lacrosse programs? If it was, why not just say that? Perhaps the “diversity/equality” thing meant increased funding and more media engagement towards female sports? That is doubtful, however, since the competitors were all men.
So again, what was this “Champions For Change” event for, other than to promote standard issue, social-justice bullshit and allow millionaire athletes to virtue signal for 3 hours on a golf course. It is doubtful the proceeds are going towards golf equipment at Howard, Grambling or any other HBCU.
BTW, Trump just ensured long-term funding for HBCU’s and received a pathetic 12% of the black vote for that honor, so HBCU funding apparently isn’t too important for most black people. So why should anyone else have wasted a Friday after Thanksgiving watching this “charity” event.