TNT Sports’ ‘The Match’ Superstars: Predictions for Phelps, Gretzky and More Stars | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

TNT Sports’ ‘The Match’ returns for its tenth edition, and this promises to be the biggest and most comprehensive event yet. The match: Superstars will be an eight-player event spanning two nights at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach.

The Match, which debuted in 2018 with a head-to-head matchup between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, has had several formats over the years.

However, professional golfers such as Woods, Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang were usually present at the event. Some iterations only featured athletes from other sports.

For example, Match VIII pitted NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce against NBA stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

The match: Superstars will stray even further from the realm of pro golf with a star-studded field of eight celebrity and sporting legend players.

Where: Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach

Time: 7:30 PM ET both nights

TV and livestream: TNT and Max

• Charley Barkley
• Nate Bargatze
• Wayne Gretzky
• Ken Griffey Jr.
• Blake Griffin
• Bill Murray
• Michael Phelps
• Mark Wahlberg

The match: Superstars starts on Thursday with a pair of scramble matches.

In the first round, actor Bill Murray and NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky will face NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. The second match of the evening will feature actor Mark Wahlberg and 23-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps will face off against six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin and comedian Nate Bargatze.

The teams will be split for the second night, with individual matches consisting of the semi-finals and final rounds. The grand prize for the event is $1 million.

While it may seem like an odd collection of competitors, everyone involved is an avid golf enthusiast and has some experience of fruitful competition.

Murray has regularly competed in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, while Wahlberg hosted the Feldman Automotive Children’s Miracle Celebrity Invitational. Gretzky is a veteran of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while Phelps, host of the Michael Phelps Foundation Golf Classic, has competed in the WM Phoenix Open pro-am.

Bargatze and Griffin both competed in this year’s American Century Championship, while Griffey has competed in the Korn Ferry Tour’s One Club Challenge – and, unsurprisingly, received plenty of praise for his swing.

Barkley was, of course, a fixture at The Match. He won the third edition of the event together with Mickelson and regularly fulfilled a broadcasting role. In total, this will be Barkley’s ninth appearance on The Match.

While one might assume that former professional athletes will have an advantage in the competition, Gretzky emphasizes that this is not necessarily the case.

“People think that because you’re an athlete, because I was a hockey player, that I should be a good golfer. No, that’s not true,” Gretzky told the Canadian Press in September. “…I play for fun. It’s a great family sport and I love it.”

It takes dedication and drive to become a great golfer, something that could give Phelps an edge here. The 39-year-old, one of history’s greatest Olympians, has become passionate about improving his golf game.

“I have goals in the game,” Phelps said in January, according to Josh Berhow of Golf.com. “I’d like to start all over again. I’m now down to a 7 handicap. I’ve corrected my spray off the tee a little bit and have been able to dial that in. So I’m giving myself a chance to actually play.”

The prediction here is for Barkley, Griffey, Wahlberg and Phelps to advance to Day 2, with Phelps winning it all.