Cal Sports Report

Aaron Rodgers Hits 438-Yard Tee Shot While Winning 'The Match'

Former Cal quarterback sinks match-winning putt as he and Bryson DeChambeau defeat Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson in made-for-TV golf event

Jake Curtis

Aaron Rodgers Hits 438-Yard Tee Shot While Winning 'The Match'
Aaron Rodgers Hits 438-Yard Tee Shot While Winning 'The Match' /

The main takeaway from The Match on Tuesday: IT LASTED TOO DAMN LONG!

The round lasted 10 minutes shy of five hours, and the TNT broadcast of the made-for-TV charity event, involving former Cal star Aaron Rodgers and partner Bryson DeChambeau against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady, lasted nearly seven hours.

And the round could have lasted longer if Rodgers had not sunk the winning putt on the 16th hole to give his duo a 3-and-2 victory, slicing two holes off the match-play event.

Did anyone watch the entire event? It started more than three hours before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the basketball game was well into the third quarter by the time The Match was finished.

Rodgers was the star of the day, making a number of long putts and blasting a 438-yard drive on eighth hole.

Did you say 438 yards? 

Granted, the tee area on No. 8 was more than 7,200 feet above sea level, about 2,000 feet higher than Denver, providing some mighty thin air in Big Sky, Montana. And it's true the fairway went sharply downhill.  And there was some wind. But, hey, 438 yards is 438 yards.

The only chance for news came on the 11th hole, when Rodgers was asked whether he will be in a Packers' jersey this season. Rodgers, of course, provided no answer. He did, however, address Charles Barkley's request for the inside scoop on the issue.

"I'll tell you this week in Tahoe, and you can leak it," Rodgers said in the video below.

Otherwise the most interesting moments were the guest appearance by former President Barack Obama and the sighting of a bear on the course, and we're not talking about Khalil Mack:

The star of the day was Rodgers. During one eight-hole stretch from the fourth to 11th holes, his drive was the one his team played in this alternate-ball competition.

And he made a number of key putts, like this one on No. 12 to put his team 3 up

This was the fourth version of The Match, and the first one that Rodgers participated in.

But it was mostly for laughs.  It could not have been too serious if Brady and Rodgers were throwing the football around between holes:

Rodgers and DeChambeau were the pre-event favorites. They went off at -175, according to William Hill Sportsbook, while Brady an Mickelson were set at +138.

Rodgers makes a nice putt on the fourth hole, but he and DeChambeau lost the hole.

And former President Obama made an appearance via video early in the round.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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