MICHAEL JORDAN could form a superstar partnership with Tiger Woods in a golf match against Phil Mickelson and NBA icon Steph Curry.
Mickelson opened up on plans to repeat the success of The Match 2 last Sunday night – which brought in a record 5.8million viewers.
Woods teamed up with Indianapolis Colts legend Peyton Manning to beat Mickelson and Super Bowl hero Tom Brady – and raise more than £16m for charity.
The Match 1 – where Mickelson beat Woods in November 2018 – was criticised for its lack of banter and flat finish, as well as technical difficulties which meant its pay-per-view format was dropped at the last minute.
But the introduction of NFL stars Manning and Brady gave Sunday’s game a totally new edge – and new audience.
Brady was awful on the front nine but holed an amazing shot from the fairway on the seventh, only to split his trousers.
While Woods displayed some of the trash talking he is famous for as early as the third hole when he had a dig at Mickelson.
It was a genuinely gripping contest too, with the match going down to the last.
Reigning Masters champ Woods, 44, and Mickelson, 49, have agreed to play three matches.
And that makes sense now given that the scores are even.
Fans suggested after the second contest that the introduction of golf fanatic Jordan, whose Last Dance documentary is currently dominating Netflix, would be brilliant in a rematch.
And Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, is a natural fit given he already competed in a professional golf event back in 2017.
Speaking to the LA Times, Mickelson said it is something he is working on.
He said: “I think you could showcase guys like Steph Curry and Michael Jordan or Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes, who are all good golfers, elite talents and have great personalities.
“Those personalities are going to come out with this event. Or you could have someone who loves the game and is competitive but is really entertaining like Larry David and Bill Murray. I think that could shine.
“What if Tiger and I were to team up and take on two younger players, or what if we were to team up with younger players and have it be a real high-level golf competition?
“I think there’s a market for that. But you have to have some personality in there, too, so a guy like Justin Thomas showed how funny he is and he would add a lot to an event like that.
“I don’t know what specifically it will look like but it would be a competition while also being entertaining and getting the right mixture of individuals to have their personalities come out the way Peyton and Tom shined in this last one.
“They were humanised with their golf game yet they were competitive and they were funny and entertaining. They let their sense of humour come out.
“It’s about finding the right mix of those competitors and I don’t think we could get two better guys than who we had in Peyton and Tom. Going forward that will be the challenge. How do we improve on that?”
