Phil Mickelson Ready To Team Up With Charles Barkley To Announce 'The Match'

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The fifth installment of Capital One's The Match will take place the day after Thanksgiving, except this time, Phil Mickelson won't be playing in it.

"Lefty" has played in the first four matches. He last teamed up with Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady to go up against Bryson DeChambeau and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. This time around, it'll be golf rivals Brooks Koepka and DeChambeau going 1-on-1. Mickelson will be in the booth, making his official announcing debut alongside play-by-play man Brian Anderson and Charles Barkley.

Mickelson and Barkley teamed up to defeat NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and Warriors guard Stephen Curry on Nov. 27, 2020.

“Charles is one of the funniest people I know and he’s one of the quickest wit, articulate, and for him to carry over, cross over into golf,” Mickelson said to Golfweek. “You know, we’re partners and we’ve won before, so we have a certain credibility when we talk about The Match that I think will provide some insight, too.”

Koepka and DeChambeau have a rivalry that's well documented. Both have very different styles of play, creating the conflict between the two. They were able to squash it for one weekend at the Ryder Cup in September, but are set to go head-to-head on Friday, Nov. 26. The match will air at 4:00 p.m. ET on TNT.

Mickelson said he hopes to get both of their personalities to come out.

“Both players are brilliant players, both players are great players, but both players do it a different way. Their thought process is different," Mickelson said. "What I would like to do is kind of let that out and let that be seen. Obviously Bryson is very analytical, numbers, math and a more scientific approach, and Brooks’ approach is using his talent, skill, feel, vision, visualization to bring out his best.

"I’m hoping that I can get them to articulate that a little bit better because I think it gives great insight into how great players like those two guys think and go throughout a round, and maybe throw in a few jabs here and there.”