Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson drew an average of 5.8 million viewers for “The Match: Champions for Charity” on Sunday, Turner Sports announced in a press release.
That viewership was across four channels, TBS, TNT, TRUTV and HLN, per Turner Sports.
The pairing of Woods and Manning beat Brady and Mickelson. It came down to the final hole at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla. Woods and Manning were ahead by one entering hole 18.
Turner Sports also announced peak viewership at 6.3 million and that the event raised $20 million for coronavirus relief.
The match was the most-watched golf telecast in the history of cable television, per the release. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn reported it beat out the average viewers of ESPN’s The Last Dance" (5.6 million), the documentary on the Chicago Bulls’ Dynasty during Michael Jordan’s career.
The highlight of the event? Despite Brady struggling on the front nine, he made the shot of the day. The Buccaneers quarterback hit a shot from the fairway on the par-5 seventh. It happened right after Charles Barkley, a member of the broadcast team, was trash-talking Brady for his poor play.
“Chuck, take a suck of that,” Brady said. "Shut your mouth, Chuck. Take a load of that medicine. Get your butt out of here. That’s what I needed.”
Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March after playing 20 seasons and winning six Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots. Brady and Manning were rivals on the football field for many years.
Turner Sports’ press release also noted, “Bleacher Report’s social and digital platforms – the destination for passionate, young sports fans – tallied 38 million video views, more than five million social engagements and 172 million social impressions for Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity content leading up to and during the event. The B/R app also set a new record for most comments in an hour (2-3 p.m. ET).”
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