BIG SKY — Two of football’s greatest paired up with a couple PGA Champions Tuesday afternoon up in Big Sky for Capital One’s The Match, and since it wasn’t open to the public, the community held a viewing party at the Big Sky Town Center.
“We’re so excited to have The Match here in Big Sky, Montana," Lone Mountain Land Company vice president Bayard Dominick said. "It’s an unbelievable opportunity to celebrate what Big Sky is and what’s amazing about Montana.”
While Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady battled it out at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin, the town center was filled with people on lawn chairs watching The Match.
Both golf pairs were competing to raise money for the non-profit Feeding America, which is why Tuesday’s community event was also a benefit for the local Big Sky Food Bank.
“The last 16 months with COVID has put an incredible strain on a lot of families both in Gallatin and Madison Counties - all over Montana - and we felt this was a great opportunity to sort of help that cause, help them help the families that have been struggling," Dominick added.
“It’s great that the stars are here to put some light on the need to feed people," Big Sky Community Food Bank Founder Diane Bartzick said.
From a bouncy house for kids to a hole-in-one golf simulator, each activity helped raise money for the local food bank, but the fan-favorite at Tuesday’s viewing party was the mini-golf course, which replicated a few holes at The Reserve.
“The holes that we selected were hole No. 7, hole No. 12, and then the last one is kind of one of the holes that The Reserve is most known for - the 777-yard par-five for hole No. 17," Love Street Media owner Erik Morrison explained.
But the big question everyone was asking on Tuesday was: Are you rocking with Tom Brady/Phil Mickelson or Aaron Rodgers/Bryson DeChambeau?
“I have to go with Phil [Mickelson] and Tom [Brady]," Dominick added. "They spend a lot of time in Big Sky. They’ve both played the course before. I think [Bryson] DeChambeau is just going to hit the ball too hard and going to end up in the rough with the rest of us.”
“Before this, I was like you can never bet against Tom Brady, but this is golf," Matt Shelden laughed. "Completely different sport. This is Bryson’s [DeChambeau] game."
