Turner Sports' production of Friday's match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson was mostly a cacophonous, technically challenged mess, but Mickelson's thrilling sudden-death victory under the Las Vegas lights should and will make the network try again.
The match could also become the template for gambling-driven golf and tennis pay-per-view events in the future as more and more states work to legalize sports betting. I can already see the ads: "Tiger vs. Phil: The Rematch."
I had high hopes for "The Match," the $9 million winner-take-all pay-per-view between Tiger and Phil; most of those hopes were realized.
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This was golf's first dive into the pay-per-view waters occupied by boxing and mixed martial arts. Both players were mic'd up. Woods and Mickelson delivered unique access with on-course trash-talking, gamesmanship and shot strategy that we don't see or hear during regular golf coverage. For the first time, golf openly embraced the betting that has been part of the sport since its beginning.
Way too often, however, Turner's telecast was a babble of indecipherable voices that left my ears ringing. Too many times, announcers drowned out the best moments. I kept urging them during the five-hour event to just shut up, for Pete's sake.
If something is worth doing, though, then it's worth overdoing in today's sports media world, especially when viewers are being charged $19.99. Turner threw everything but the kitchen sink at this event, but sometimes, less is more.
On hole No. 3, for example, I overheard heard Mickelson telling his caddie he was a split-second away from conceding a key putt before Woods missed it, but we couldn't hear that because anchor Ernie Johnson was introducing a pre-taped commercial for Capital One.
On hole No. 4, I was dying to hear what Woods was telling his caddie about his lousy sidehill lie. Instead, we got actor (and Capital One endorser) Samuel L. Jackson talking about his own golf experiences.
As the pair came up to No. 11, a driveable, 284-yard par-4, I would have loved to hear what the players and caddies were talking about as they stood on the tee. Instead, Johnson informed us that ex-TBS analyst John Smoltz made the only ace on the hole. We also saw this revealing stat on-screen: "Tiger made 1% more birdies than Phil in the computer simulation."
Did you say "1 percent in a computer simulation"? Stop the presses.
To add to the disorienting din, there were frequent plugs for sponsors Capital One, AT&T and MGM, live updates on odds and betting, and the sound of drones buzzing overhead.
MGM's exclusive Shadow Creek Golf Course resort was portrayed as a modern-day Garden of Eden. We didn't hear about the $500 greens fee for the general public or the fact that players have to show up in a limousine, according to Golf Digest. So much for weekend hackers enjoying this miracle in the desert.
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To Turner's credit, it wised up as the telecast wore on. It smartly showed replays of revealing conversations we missed while the announcers were droning on. They were some of the best moments of the day.
In one replay, we heard Mickelson lament his inability to put a struggling Woods away. As Lefty walked up the 12th fairway, we heard him say to his caddie: "I can't keep letting him hang in like this. Have to pull away." Great stuff.
On the other hand, the on-course banter was not as scintillating as we thought it would be. As they walked up the first fairway, Woods and Mickelson babbled about how "cool" it was for the Hollywood star Jackson to introduce them on the first tee. Mickelson wondered if he'd be able to get a video clip for posterity. I think Turner can handle that, Phil.
Other times, we only heard the sounds of Woods and Mickelson breathing, groaning, grunting and sniffling as they played their shots, or we didn't know what exactly they were talking about. Mickelson, for example, talked about using "side sauce" on one shot. Even the announcers were flummoxed by that one.
Early on, both contestants, as Charles Barkley noted, played a lot of crappy golf. Should we have been surprised? Mickelson is 48 and Tiger is 42. Give analyst Peter Jacobsen, on loan from NBC Sports, credit for his honesty Friday.
After Mickelson issued a $1 million challenge for an eagle 2 on the par-4 ninth hole, both butchered their approach shots. "I've got to be honest with you, Darren," Jacobsen told colleague Darren Clarke, "those were two horrible shots for those guys."
SN LIVE BLOG: Hole-by-hole coverage of 'The Match'
On the par-3, eighth hole, Jacobsen noted, "Tiger's putt was bad. Phil's was worse."
The two pushed a longest-drive challenge on No. 14. Why? Because they both drove into a fairway bunker.
All of that, though, was just a preamble to the hell-raising, 22nd-hole finish under the lights that brought back memories of some of the great mano-a-mano contests in Sin City. It all comes down to competition, and sports fans are going to remember the ending, not the beginning, of this match.
Many of the best moments surprisingly came from Woods, one of the most closed, uptight sports stars of all time.
I loved watching the big grin on his face as Lefty missed a putt on No. 1 that would have won him a $200,000 side bet. "That hurts the pocket," quipped Woods. Johnson could only laugh. “What is it they say: 'Every golf shot makes somebody happy'?"
Woods was his own best narrator, muttering under his breath after many shots. Gazing at one lousy lie, he said simply, "That sucks." Well put, Tiger.
Still, I didn't feel like like viewers truly got the kind of honest, revealing look at these two champions in the heat of competition that they promised during their joint press conference in Sin City on Tuesday. Where were the taunts and the F-bombs?
PGA Tour player Pat Perez showed he has a future on golf TV by succinctly summing up the frustrations of me and other viewers. "I want to hear some more smack, I want to hear some more (betting) action, I want to see some betting, but we also need to see more golf shots," said Perez, "some more good golf shots."
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The ending was great as Woods and Mickelson battled into overtime, gallantly conceding putts to each other, as darkness descended over the Nevada desert and the floodlights came on at Shadow Creek. It was great TV, well worth the $19.99 price.
Still, there is plenty of room for improvement.
My advice: Lose half the announcing crew next time. Focus on the mic'd-up conversations between the players, caddies and fans. Stop talking over the telecast. Let the players be the stars, not the announcers. Go easier on the product placements and infomercials.
This event had plenty of issues, especially on the technical side, but in the end, it was damn entertaining. This was a heavyweight match, with two legends going toe-to-toe. Turner should get credit for gambling on the idea and pulling it off. You will see more of them in the future.