One of the nation’s eminent celebrity golf events returns to cable television Thursday and Friday in primetime, as the 10th iteration of “The Match” hits the lush green grass of West Palm Beach’s Breakers West Country Club.
This year’s supersized event features eight golfers of varying backgrounds, with Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Ken Griffey Jr. and NBA All-Stars Charles Barkley and Blake Griffin joining The Great One himself (Wayne Gretzky) in this year’s star-studded field.
Throw in 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps, actors Mark Wahlberg and Bill Murray and comedian Nate Bargatze and you have the full list of competitors in this year’s taped edition of “The Match,” with the two-day event featuring a two-man scramble on Thursday and individual matches to determine the winner of the $1 million prize on Friday.
To get a sense of which competitor has the best hypothetical odds on winning this year’s “The Match,” BetCarolina.com broke down the tape on each of the eight competitors, giving viewers a better sense of which man will come out swinging across North Carolina sports betting.
📋 MORE: How to Bet on Golf in NC.
Golfer | Odds | Percent Chance |
Ken Griffey Jr. | +450 | 18.2% |
Charles Barkley | +500 | 16.7% |
Michael Phelps | +650 | 13.3% |
Mark Wahlberg | +650 | 13.3% |
Blake Griffin | +800 | 11.1% |
Wayne Gretzky | +800 | 11.1% |
Nate Bargatze | +1100 | 8.3% |
Bill Murray | +1100 | 8.3% |
Disclaimer: These odds were developed by and are exclusive to BetCarolina.com, but regulated operators offering top North Carolina sportsbook promo codes offer wagers on each PGA Tour event, plus futures betting and more.
Our odds-on favorite for winning this year’s version of the TNT event is 13-time MLB All-Star outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., whose 4.7 handicap warrants serious discussion as one of the best among the celebrity athlete circuit. That’s why we have Griffey at +450 to win this year’s edition of “The Match,” beating out Charles Barkley (+500), Michael Phelps and Mark Wahlberg (+650 each).
The last edition of “The Match” took place on Feb. 26, 2024, with Rory McIlroy beating a host of opponents that included Lexi Thompson, Max Homa and Rose Zhang. This iteration of the event has leaned into celebrity, rather than pro golfers from either the PGA Tour or LIV Golf.
Teams:
This year’s version of “The Match” includes four sets of two-man teams, with Barkley and Griffey squaring off against Murray and Gretzky, while Phelps and Wahlberg will play Bargatze and Griffin on the other side of the bracket. Night Two will feature individual matches for both the semifinals and final.
USA Today photo by Naples Daily News staff.
Ken Griffey Jr.:
Our top pick to win “The Match” in 2024 is one of the sweetest swingers in MLB history, with Griffey and his 630 career home runs sitting at +450 to win it all, which speaks to the Hall of Famer’s ability to hit the living hell out of a golf ball. That smooth swing on the links is one of the main reasons why we have the 54-year-old as our top pick to win this year’s event, though there is plenty of competition at “The Match” in 2024.
Charles Barkley:
Sir Charles has always had a … shall we say … unique golf swing. The man formerly known as “The Round Mound of Rebound” has upped his game over the years, however, claiming to have a 10-handicap on the course entering his ninth swing at “The Match,” either as a competitor or an announcer. We’re going with Chuck’s story on his improved golf game, with Barkley holding the second best odds of winning the 10th edition of “The Match,” at +500.
Michael Phelps:
Few athletes have dominated a given sport the way that Phelps did in the pool during his career, with 28 medals at the Summer Olympics and countless other accolades during his swimming days. Now that his athletic pursuits are in the rear-view mirror, Phelps has turned his attention to the links, reporting a 7-handicap and looking like an absolute tour de force on the course right now. That prowess is one of the main reasons why we have the Maryland native at +650 to win this year’s event, ranking alongside actor Mark Wahlberg on our “The Match” odds board.
Mark Wahlberg:
Noted Bostonian and hamburger enthusiast Mark Wahlberg reportedly has an 8.7 handicap on the course. The former boy band frontman and two-time Academy Award nominee is a man to watch on the links, with the Massachusetts native sporting +650 odds and ranking alongside Phelps on our odds board for the 2024 event.
Blake Griffin:
The six-time NBA All-Star forward out of Oklahoma reportedly has a 13-handicap on the links, going from shooting a self-professed score of 120 on his first 18-hole round to being a solid hacker on the links in short order. Griffin told golf.com that his decision to get into golf stemmed from the waning days of his NBA career, when he knew he had to channel his competitive ambitions into something healthy. “I was like, dude, I need a competitive outlet, or I could become a psychopath,” Griffin told GOLF Magazine’s Subpar series. That newfound obsession with the links is one of the main reasons why we’re giving Griffin +800 odds of winning the 10th edition of “The Match” this weekend, ranking alongside Gretzky fifth overall on our odds board.
Wayne Gretzky:
The man that many would call the greatest forward in NHL history has a handicap of 9.8, but can definitely swing it, which should be of no surprise given the Canadian’s NHL career where he racked up a league record 894 goals and 1,963 assists in 1,487 NHL games. It’s that commitment to excellence that has The Great One listed alongside Griffin at +800 to win “The Match” in 2024, ranking ahead of our final two competitors, in Bargatze and Murray.
Nate Bargatze:
While we don’t have a firm answer as to the longtime standup comedian’s handicap on the course, many estimates have Bargatze at around a 7-handicap on the links, though we’ll know a lot more about his quality of play when the Tennessee native tees it up in Florida this week. For now, we’re giving Bargatze +1100 odds of winning this year’s edition of “The Match,” ranking alongside Bill Murray for dead last on our “The Match” odds board.
Bill Murray:
Finally, when it comes to celebrity golf events there’s nobody in today’s entertainment industry that has more experience than Chicago’s funnyman, Bill Murray. The 7-handicapped hacker is well known for his role in the golf comedy “Caddyshack,” but that on-screen connection to the game isn’t enough to elevate his odds in “The Match,” with Murray listed at +1100 to win it in 2024, ranking in a tie with Bargatze for dead last on our board. Still, the Academy Award-nominated comedic actor and American mainstay should provide his fair share of levity to the week’s events, which makes him worth watching, even if he doesn’t wind up winning it all come Sunday.
The latest edition of "The Match" will feature Bill Murray, Mark Wahlberg, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Nate Bargatze, Ken Griffey Jr. and Blake Griffin at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach.
The Match: Superstars is set to air Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. The two-night primetime special will be simulcast on TNT and Max.
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
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