Bill Murray, holiday season golf in West Palm Beach, Florida and a smorgasbord of big names getting together in the name of charity—what isn’t there to love about all of that?
The Man, The Myth, The Murray headed up this star-studded event—“The Match”—where he teed it up alongside Mark Wahlberg, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Nate Bargatze, Ken Griffey Jr. and Blake Griffin at Breakers West Country Club on Thursday and Friday last week.
Bill was looking clean and on the scene in his navy blue Men’s Chip-Shot Pullover and his go-to Murray Classic Shorts—as well as his lucky white bucket hat that would’ve made Dr. Leo Marvin proud; bringing laid back Lake Winnipesaukee vibes to South Florida—everyone feeling good, feeling great, feeling wonderful for the two-day golf outing.
This was the tenth version of “The Match”, which has since raised over $41-million for various organizations since the series kicked off back in 2018—while donating over 27-million means to Feeding America—while this year’s event saw it’s proceeds going towards hurricane relief.
Years back this was a one-on-one event, kicking off with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson went head to head at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada six years ago—which many will remember as a disastrous pay-per-view event that made bigger headlines than the actual outing itself.
The pivot to a charity angle took place in May 2020, where Woods and Mickelson returned—but teamed up with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, respectively—where the two teams raised over $20-million for COVID-19 relief.
Months later, “Champions For Change” with Mickleson and Barkley taking on Steph Curry and Manning with funds raised for historically Black colleges and universities being the focus.
A year after that, Mickelson and Brady lost to Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers in Montana where proceeds supported Feeding America—while a fall version of the event pitted DeChambeau against Brooks Koepka in a 12-hole outing, again in Las Vegas.
By 2022, the event really found its way and a broader appeal by way of more NFL, NBA and unique pairings—Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen taking on Brady and Rodgers in a quarterback battle that summer, while a fall outing was PGA Tour-focused as Woods and Rory McIlroy took on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in Florida.
Early 2024 saw McIlroy and Max Homa taking on LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang—but this fall’s edition was the first celebrity shift where actors, former athletes, comedians and other entertainers were your headliners; living out the William Murray mantra that the more-relaxed you are, the better you are at everything.
Yes, everyone involved was there for a good cause and played to win—but competition itself took a backseat to having a good time and showing out for the crowd, both at the event and watching from home.
Thursday featured two 2-versus-2 scramble matches; Murray and Gretzky going up against Barkley and Griffey Jr. while Wahlberg and Phelps took on Bargatze and Griffin.
A lighthearted-yet-competitive atmosphere Wahlberg and Phelps narrowly took out Bargatze and Griffin while Barkley and Griffey Jr. edged out Murray and Gretzky—Bill being Bill and playing to the crowd much like he has stolen the show at the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Exaggerated celebrations for routine shots, or coaching-up Barkley and the former NBA star’s unorthodox swing—Murray was the unofficial master-of-ceremonies, taking selfies with fans and joking about using a hockey stick instead of a putter in honor of his partner “The Great One” and Gretzky’s legacy.
When hitting a water hazard-filled stretch on Friday, Murray rocked a raincoat and galoshes—while providing levity via some playful banter with Phelps, as the gold medalist Olympian swimmer went on to claim the $1-million prize.
“Inside The NBA’s” Ernie Johnson handled commentary, while retired PGA Tour star Trevor Immelman provided analysis and LIV Tour golfer Bubba Watson handled on-course insights.
All participants were mic’d up, while added another dimension to the event, while TNT had drone footage for effect, as well as “Cart Cam” technology to give the production another gear.
While there’s been no official announcement for “The Match” in 2025, all indications are that another is in the worse due to the success of this fall’s event—and if so, here’s hoping Bill is back in the fold—the man of the people entertaining crowds and doing what he does best.