It's on! Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will go head-to-head in a winner-take-all US$9 million (Dh33m) duel in Las Vegas in November, it was announced Wednesday.
The idea of two of the greatest players of modern times squaring off one-on-one has been mooted for years. The pair looked set to meet on July 3 in a $10 million showdown but never materialised, although both players remained committed to making the match happen.
Mickelson confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that a showdown with rival Woods will now take place at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas on November 23 to coincide with Thanksgiving weekend in the United States.
The match play duel between the two veterans, who have 19 major titles between them, will be screened on pay-per-view.
"It's an opportunity for us to bring golf to the masses in prime time during a period where we don't have much going on in the world of golf," Mickelson told ESPN on Wednesday.
"It's a way to show a side you don't normally see by having us miked up to hear some of the interaction between us."
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Mickelson and Woods had endured a sometimes hostile relationship down the year's as they battled for supremacy at the summit of men's golf but are known to have warmed to each other in more recent times, working closely during various Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup campaigns.
Mickelson quashed claims the purse could be split, insisting that the event would be winner-take-all.
"If you [don't] do that, it undermines it," Mickelson said. "The whole point is the winner-take-all thing. That's the exciting part about it."
Former world No 1 Woods only returned to golf this year after missing most of the previous two years due to recurring back problems.
The 42-year-old bagged a second place finish at the PGA Championship earlier this month while 48-year-old Mickelson missed the cut.
Woods, who is competing at at the Northern Trust in New Jersey on Thursday - the FedExCup's first play-off tournament of the year - told reporters at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus he feels his game is in good shape, and that "my next wins are coming soon".
