Turner Sports has announced the broadcast crew for the fifth edition of The Match, which airs Friday, Nov. 26 on TNT at 4 p.m. ET and will be simulcast on TBS, truTV, and HLN.
Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley, who paired up in last year’s The Match: Champions for Change, will be the analysts for the telecast. This will be Mickelson’s first time broadcasting for The Match, after playing in the previous four versions of the event. Barkley has provided commentary for three of the past competitions.
Brian Anderson will return as host and play-by-play broadcaster, having done so for two of the previous events. And Amanda Balionis is back as the on-course reporter, which she was for The Match: Champions for Charity, the second of The Match challenges.
The past three events have featured NFL players including Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers, and NBA star Stephen Curry. But with the NFL and NBA seasons currently being played, involving players from those sports wasn’t possible. So as was the case for the very first Match, this will be a one-on-one, golfer vs. golfer competition between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
The current rivalry between DeChambeau and Koepka should drive plenty of interest in this Match. The two — along with their respective fans — have been feuding for the past couple of years, adding entertainment value to any event in which the golfers are playing.
This edition of The Match will be played at Wynn Golf Course in Las Vegas, one of the most expensive courses to play in the United States and the only golf course on the Las Vegas Strip, which should make for some compelling visuals (and surely some sports betting references) during the TNT telecast.
The Match, airs Friday, Nov. 26 (the day after Thanksgiving) on TNT at 4 p.m. ET and will be simulcast on TBS, truTV, and HLN.
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.