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Late heroics from Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers win ‘The Match’

The old quarterbacks guard beats Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen 1-up on Rodgers’ birdie putt on the final hole.
 
Did Bucs quarterback Tom Brady really work on his golf game during the offseason? This shot in "The Match" would seem to indicate no.
Did Bucs quarterback Tom Brady really work on his golf game during the offseason? This shot in "The Match" would seem to indicate no. [ Twitter ]
Published June 2, 2022

In Las Vegas, everybody loves a winner. And nobody has won more in the NFL than Tom Brady.

But the seven-time Super Bowl champion hadn’t hit any jackpots in his previous two appearances in “The Match,” a made-for-TV golf outing on TNT.

The Bucs quarterback was 0-2 in the event entering this year’s version, played Wednesday at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

This time no PGA Tour golfers played, as they did in the past. It was Brady and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers versus Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Bills QB Josh Allen.

It was the old geezers, as TNT’s Charles Barkley called them, against the NFL’s young guns.

Rodgers drained a birdie putt on the 12th and final hole to help Brady end his losing streak and their team beat Mahomes and Allen 1-up.

“I felt really good about it, to be honest,’’ Rodgers said of the winning putt. “Tommy gave me a good read. … I felt good about the line when I hit it and thought it was going in.

“Tom and I with about four holes to go, things got pretty serious. We buckled down a little bit.’’

There also were no caddies for the shamble match-play format scheduled for 12 holes. Everyone teed off, the teams picked the best drive, and each player played his ball from there.

The shots started landing before the first hole. All four were mic’d up and gave running commentary throughout the match.

Brady was late, icing his partner at the first tee.

“He’s on his third outfit change of the day,’’ Rodgers said.

Brady started needling Allen on the driving range.

“For as big as he is (listed at 6 feet 5, 237 pounds), I thought he would hit it further,’’ Brady said. “Maybe he’ll break 80.’’

Allen displayed a ball with a picture of Brady from the 2000 scouting combine.

“You went to a college I never heard of, playing with a golf ball I never heard of,’’ Brady said of Allen, who starred at Wyoming.

Rodgers was dialed in from the start, leading him and Brady to a birdie-birdie start to go 2-up.

“This guy (Rodgers) is pretty good at golf,” Allen said. “That’s what happens when you don’t go to (organized team activities). You just play golf all day long.”

That’s true of Brady, who made it to phase two of the Bucs’ offseason program. Mandatory minicamp begins Monday.

Mahomes cut his team’s deficit to 1-up on No. 3.

Brady reached the green on the par-3 fourth hole.

“A little chunky,’’ Brady said of how he hit his drive. “I call that a little Josh Allen-y. A little chunky.’’ He and Rodgers left the hole still 1-up.

Mahomes and Allen tied the match at No. 5.

Mahomes was pounding Coors Light, opening his fourth beer on No. 6, but only after he drove his ball 318 yards.

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The chattered died down as the stakes ramped up.

The biggest problem the four had was hitting fairways.

“I only have so many good drives in me,’’ Brady said after hooking one. “I’m kind of toying with them.’’

Barkley became worried about the gallery’s safety.

“All these people need to stand in the middle of the fairway,’’ he said as Brady asked spectators to move out of the way. “They’d be safe.’’

Mahomes drained a birdie putt at No. 8 to give him and Allen their first lead at 1-up.

At No. 9, Rodgers knocked in a putt from about 10 feet, but Mahomes answered to maintain his team’s lead.

Brady tied the match at No. 10 with about a 5-foot putt.

Brady missed a birdie putt at No. 11, and they went to the final hole tied. Allen rolled a putt to the lip of the cup from about 50 feet. Then Rodgers rolled in the winner.

“Nice job,’’ Brady said. “What a putt.’’