Can Aaron Rodgers Attract Viewers for Made-for-TV Golf Event?
), did a little promotional work last week with this humorous commentary on Bradys performance last year. Rodgers has said little publicly about his demand to be traded from the Packers. In fact, he has never stated his specific complaints about the Packers, saying only that it is about people in the Packers organization. But he has said plenty about The Match IV, with this May presentation being one of his early Tweets on the subject:  Rodgers and Brady have engaged in a Twitter battle about each others golf game, and Brady has done most of the heavy hitting Twitter-wise in recent weeks. The fact is, Rodgers is a better golf than Brady. Rodgers best handicap is 3.5 while Brady's is about 8.1. "I dont think Bradys an 8. I've played with him, and hes good," Rodgers said in an interview with Golf Magazine, perhaps hyping the personal competition. Rodgers finished tied for ninth in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2020. He worked with another Cal alum, Max Homa, to earn the top-10 finish. Rodgers' best handicap is 3.5 while Brady's is about 8.1. "I dont think Bradys an 8. I've played with him, and hes good," Rodgers said in an interview with Golf Magazine. Rodgers has golfed competitively more than Brady, especially of late. Rodgers finished tied for ninth in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2020. He worked with Max Homa to earn the top-10 finish. That why DeChambeau and Rodgers are favored to win the match, according to Draft Kings:  DeChambeau and Rodgers (-182, which is about 1-to-2)  Mickelson and Tom Brady (+135, which is about 5-to-4)  If it matters to anyone, the contest will be played under modified alternate-shot match-play rules. All four will hit shots off the tee, each team will then choose which ball to play and hit subsequent shots alternately. Best score wins the hole. The Match II, held in May 2020 and featuring Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning against Mickelson and Brady, had outstanding TV ratings. TNT reported an average of 5.8 million people watched that event across TBS, TNT, TruTV and HLN, making it the highest rated golf event ever on cable television, topping the first round of the 2010 Masters on ESPN. Its average viewership was marginally better than the average viewership of 'The Last Dance," the documentary series about the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. But the Match II event was played on a Sunday afternoon in Florida, and it had Tiger. Match IV is on a Tuesday, starting at 5 p.m. on the East Coast and 2 p.m. on the West Coast. The Match III, played last November and featuring Mickelson and Charles Barkley against Manning and Steph Curry, was played on a Friday in Arizona and had a rating that was a small fraction of what The Match II had received. The Match III rating came in just behind Love After Lockup in cable-television ratings that day. Rodgers name has been in the news almost constantly in recent weeks, and the 43-year-old Tom Brady is coming off his seventh Super Bowl victory, probably making them the most ratings-ready pair in football. DeChambeau received considerable publicity last week  albeit unwelcomed publicity  when he separated from his longtime caddie, then missed the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. And his drives may travel forever in the high-altitude site of The Match IV, Big Sky, Montana, which is 2,000 feet higher than Denver. Some may watch just to see whether he can club one 400 yards. And there is always Phil, a constant in this golf-event series who made headlines laast week for his complaints about an article in the Detroit News last week. And Mickelson promoted Tuesdays event a bit by tweeting a video regarding DeChambeau last week. So these guys are newsmakers. . Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports  . Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53  Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport