NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley kept saying he put in the work. That he had practiced. That his golf game, long ridiculed because his swing was disastrously bad, had gotten much better and that he would show the world.
Well, with partner Phil Mickelson constantly in his ear coaching him around Stone Canyon in The Match: Champions for Change against three-time NBA champion Steph Curry and two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning, Barkley shocked everybody. He hit fairways and showed great touch around and on the greens.
In the end, he and Mickelson did what they predicted they would do: They not only won, but won easily.
Here’s how Barkley and Mickelson thumped Curry and Manning:
Score: Barkley/Mickelson beat Curry/Manning 4 and 3
No. 15: Par 5
After some rough golf on the back nine, both teams toss up birdies. But that tie locks up the match for Barkley and Mickelson, securing a 4-and-3 victory.
“Gentlemen, thank you,” Mickelson says as he walks in the winning putt.
Result: Final: Barkley/Mickelson win 4 and 3
No. 14: Par 3
Before the match, Barkley kept telling Curry and Manning they would learn the word “dormie.” Well, it just happened. With a pair of pars, the lead for Barkley/Mickelson remains 4 up with four to play, meaning, as Barkley predicted, the match is now “dormie.”
Result: Hole tied.
No. 13: Par 4
Another missed chance for Curry and Manning. A three-putt turns a needed win into a tie when Curry misses from 6 feet.
The best part of the hole? Mickelson asking Barkley if he had a sandwich in his cart and Barkley’s less-than-pleasant assessment of himself after a poor wedge approach. In the moments when Mickelson isn’t talking, Barkley has been predictably entertaining.
Curry and Manning are running out of holes.
Result: Hole tied.
No. 12: Par 4
This was just ugly, all around. Both teams struggled their way through the 12th. How bad was it? Mickelson and Barkley two-putt for double bogey and still win the hole.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with double bogey.
No. 11: Par 4
Barkley and Mickelson took a tour of the desert. That allowed Curry and Manning to finally get away with an easy win. They needed it.
Result: Curry/Manning win with bogey.
No. 10: Par 5
A safe tee shot from Barkley allows Mickelson to swing away on the second shot into the par-5 10th. Barkley, just off the front edge of the green, has a long way for eagle.
Phil Mickelson just said that they need to pick up the pace then gave Charles Barkley a 900-word breakdown of the upcoming shot at the par-5 10th. Phil is getting in a lot of words today.
Another failed bunker shot from Manning/Curry leads to another lost hole.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with birdie.
No. 9: Par 3
Barkley goes sideways — literally — off the tee. It’s golf’s dirtiest word — shank.
Watch at your own risk.
Tom Brady, who had to listen to Barkley taking shots at his golf game when Brady played in May with Mickelson against Manning and Tiger Woods, offered some thoughts.
Forced to play Mickelson’s ball, Barkley shows nice touch to knock it to kick-in range for a par to tie the hole. They go to the back nine with a 3-up lead over Curry/Manning. But, again, Charles’ game is slowly starting to crumble.
Barkley/Mickelson make the turn 3 up on Curry/Manning. But Chuck’s game is starting to leak oil. Mickelson, who has not stopped talking since they turned the microphones on, will have some serious work ahead of him on the back nine.
Result: Hole tied.
No. 8: Par 4
Mickelson fires his tee shot into the desert. It hits a rock and bounces nearly back into the fairway. “I own the place,” says Mickelson, who does literally own Stone Canyon. Despite the friendly bounce, Curry and Manning finally get another hole after Barkley misses a par putt from 4 feet. Maybe hold off on the “Law & Order” reruns for a little while. Barkley’s game is getting a little shaky.
Result: Curry/Manning win with par.
No. 7: Par 5
The Curry/Manning mess continues. On the par-5, Manning hits a solid drive and then Curry hits a good layup. Wait … a layup?
“They’re 3 down and they’re laying up?” Mickelson asks incredulously.
Then Manning dumps his wedge into the bunker. Again, with a chance to chip away at the Barkley/Mickelson lead, Curry and Manning falter. Instead of winning a hole, they lose another with an ugly double bogey.
“Get those ‘Law & Order’ reruns ready for about five holes [from now],” Barkley says, suggesting he thinks his team is going to put this one away early.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with par.
No. 6: Par 3
With the heckling help of Barkley’s TNT teammates — Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith jumped on the broadcast to heckle Chuck — Curry and Manning finally had a chance to make up some ground. Shaq with the best one-liner as Barkley stalks his birdie putt: “If you can’t read words, how you gonna read greens?” Still, even after Curry hits a perfect tee shot at the short par-3, they don’t take advantage. Manning lips out from 5 feet to stay 3 down.
Result: Hole tied.
No. 5: Par 4
Things are not going well for Manning and Curry. After Curry misses the green on the team’s approach, Manning airmails a green-side bunker. Then Curry chunks the chip from behind the green. Making it even worse, they have to listen to Mickelson talk more about how well he and Barkley are executing their plan. “We’ve been winning holes so fast, we have to slow down,” Mickelson says.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with par.
No. 4: Par 4
Mickelson and Barkley came in with a strategy. (And Mickelson is not shy in talking his way through every decision and every shot and every scenario.) But it’s working. Barkley with another iron into the fairway helps set up an easy par. Curry and Manning are still shaky, and when Manning’s par putt misses on the low side, it’s another hole lost. Not only is Barkley playing well, but his black-pants, black-shirt wardrobe is drawing rave reviews from someone else known for that look.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with par.
No. 3: Par 4
Mickelson with one of his patented “bombs” off the tee to give Barkley a look at eagle. The eagle is missed, but Mickelson walks in the 5-footer for another birdie and another win.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with birdie.
No. 2: Par 5
Another iron off the tee for Barkley, another good result.
The solid tee ball gives Mickelson a go at the green in two. He gets it to the front edge, leaving Barkley with a 90-footer for eagle. He settles the lag putt 5 feet from the hole.
Peyton Manning might have just given Charles Barkley a new nickname: The Round Mound of Up and Down.
After Curry misses his birdie, Mickelson converts to even things back up.
Result: Barkley/Mickelson win with birdie.
No. 1: Par 4
Sure, Charles Barkley and Phil Mickelson lost the first hole after Barkley’s par putt slid by. But let’s focus on what matters most: There is no hitch in Charles Barkley’s swing.
First swing of the day and Charles Barkley stripes an iron into the fairway. No, really, he did. “Going to be a long day for those two young fellas right there,” Barkley says as he drives to his ball.
Barkley said he has been working hard on his game. And he went all Tiger Woods with his first swing, not even watching the flight of his ball. Instead, he just immediately bent over to pick up his tee.
Result: Curry/Manning win with par.
